Air Monitoring Services

UK Asbestos Consultants Ltd can provide on-site air monitoring and fibre counting services. All testing is conducted in accordance with HSG 248/2.

Types of Air Sampling:

Compliance Sampling - Is the approved method, as detailed in HSE Documentation HSG 248/2, to assess whether or not the personal exposure of workers are in compliance with the 4hr or 10 minute control limits and the 12 week exposure limit as defined in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.

Background Sampling - Is conducted to establish fibre levels prior to any activity which may lead to airborne Asbestos contamination.

Leak (enclosure check) sampling - Is performed outside the enclosure whilst Asbestos removal works are progress to check that the environmental control systems are adequate.

Assessment of the Suitability of Respirator Protection - Is monitoring inside enclosure whilst Asbestos removal is in progress and is conducted to assess the effectiveness of dust suppression measures and the suitability of respiratory protection.

Clearance Indicator Sampling (Clearance Testing) - Is air monitoring in a clean and visually examined enclosure from which Asbestos has been removed or encapsulated.

Reassurance Sampling - Is monitoring which may be conducted in certain circumstances (such as when an enclosure has been removed) to confirm that the residual Asbestos fibre concentrations are below the HSE minimum limit of detection of less than 0.01 fibres/ml.

Who can carry out this air testing and fibre counting work?

Regulation 19 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (CAR) requires employers to use only organisations that have been accredited to the International Standard ISO17025 (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories) to carry out air monitoring of the concentrations of Asbestos fibres.

This is mainly where work with Asbestos is taking place (personal monitoring) and to assess after removal work whether the area is safe to reoccupy. Where the employer uses their own staff to do this work they have to comply with the criteria in the accreditation standard. The accreditation schemes are run by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).