Giantswood Risk Management

24/08/2022

Today’s survey was a tad energetic. Full survey on St Mary’s Newark, one of the largest Parish Churches in the UK. The spire is 232ft, up a narrow spiral staircase. 92 steps to the ringing room, another 22 to the clock room then 26 more to the bell tower, only to find absolutely no form of suspect asbestos 😂

14/07/2022

Are you up to date? Expect an HSE Visit near you this autumn.

HSE inspectors to assess the management of asbestos in schools HSE eBulletin service sent this bulletin at 14-07-2022 03:00 PM BST Having trouble viewing this email? View the content as a web page. HSE ebulletin HSE ebulletin Issued: 14 July 2022 This ebulletin is aimed at all those running, governi...

09/06/2022

A sunny morning in Kensington High Street. This is the third retail unit we have surveyed in this building in the last five years, all for different clients. Funny how these things happen sometimes.

23/05/2022

The huge importance of asbestos management is knowing who is doing what in your buildings. I recently went to carry out an asbestos management survey for an old client on a small industrial unit they had acquired and were preparing to let to a new tenant. Just prior to my carrying out the survey they had let the tenant have the keys to carry out some measuring work for their proposed fit out. At some point, someone, cut multiple 20mm holes through the asbestos insulation board ceiling with a power drill and hole cutter, in the reception area. Leaving highly dangerous asbestos dust all over the entire floor and contaminating the entire area. This was unknown to me and to be fair, unknown to the client. I walked in there innocently without a dust mask or coverall and became instantly contaminated with highly dangerous asbestos dust. While I know how to deal with this situation, it was quite clear that a number of people had walked through the dust as a path through the dust on the floor was quite clear. At the moment no one is admitting liability. This action is to me, completely unforgivable. Whoever the poor sod was that cut the holes stands a very strong chance of developing an asbestos related condition in future years and joining the 7000+ victims per year of asbestos related diseases as well as contaminating colleagues, partners and family to a similar fate. Whoever it was would have been stood under the hole cutter and covered themselves with toxic asbestos dust. Asbestos insulation board such as this contains around 45% Amosite (Brown) and 20% Chrysotile (White) asbestos fibre. In the pictures you can quite clearly see the larger strands of asbestos fibre, however those don't kill you. The fibres that kill you are invisible to the naked eye that you breath in and suck deep into your lungs, impaling themselves on the the walls of you lungs for the rest of your life. If you are lucky they will just cause scaring, if you are not so lucky, they will work there way through your lungs to the membrane your heart and lungs sit in. This causes a uncurbable cancer called mesothelioma. It can take as little as 5 years for it to develop, but diagnosis to death on average is 6 months. The situation is ongoing. An environmental clean is taking place by licensed asbestos contractors before removal of the ceilings. Cost in terms of money so far in excess of £15k. It could have been nothing. Cost of human suffering? We won't know for some time, but you can't put a price on that.

12/04/2022

(Wait for the punchline) This is a classic case of a little knowledge being dangerous thing, or in this case a very expensive one. Over the weekend we were called out by a client to identify floor tiles and adhesive of a floor, their refurbishment contractor had convinced them to remove as “They might be asbestos”. Concerns were raised when the “contractor” was also ripping up the asphalt substrate with the tiles attached and damage was being caused to the freshly decorated walls and skirting boards. No samples had been taken to identify the floor tiles and adhesive prior to work commencing, no plan of work, no risk assessment and interestingly no facilities to dispose of asbestos waste correctly. On my arrival the condition I found the room in was atrocious and if the tiles had been asbestos, I would have declared the site a disaster area. Yes, you read that right, ….if the tiles were asbestos……………. they aren’t. Through experience I could identify the tiles on site as modern non-asbestos thermoplastic, containing calcite instead of asbestos. This floor had been laid around 20 years ago, whereas asbestos hasn’t been used in floor tiles since the late 1980s. We have now taken samples to confirm my assessment, but its too late to save the floor substrate. To add to the agony, there had never been any need to remove the tiles anyway, even if they had been asbestos. The new tenant wants the area as a dance studio and all that was required was the floor to be over boarded and a new floor laid over the top. HSE and Government advice is not to lift asbestos floor tiles unless absolutely necessary but encapsulate by screed or over boarding. The asbestos risk from floor tiles is extremely low. Unfortunately for our client there is now the expense of reinstating the asphalt substrate, repairing the damage to the walls and skirting boards, plus the delays for the prospective tenant. All it needed to prevent this expensive mistake was a quick visit by us to identify the materials and work could have been completed for little time and cost. Far better than just taking a guess. As I say, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”

01/03/2022

This highlights the need for asbestos surveyors and consultants to be independent of asbestos removal companies.

Asbestos removal company fined for failing to protect workers 21st February 202228th February 2022 by Robin Ghosh ShareAn asbestos management company director has been jailed after failures to protect workers from asbestos exposure during a major refurbishment project in Plymouth. Plymouth Magistrat...

19/10/2021

An Asbestos material we don't often come across thankfully, but one that is currently causing a client a great deal of stress and cost, is loose fill insulation. Used until the mid 1970s, this fluffy stuff is highly dangerous. If your loft or under floor voids are filled with loose insulation, get it checked out. It could literally save you from a horrible slow death.

18/02/2021

https://press.hse.gov.uk/2021/02/12/construction-firms-fined-due-to-unsafe-removal-of-asbestos/?utm_source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=press-channels-push&utm_term=enforcement-asbestos-headline&utm_content=digest-17-feb-21

A construction company and a property management company have both been fined after failing to manage asbestos safely during a refurbishment of a former office block in Stockport. Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how Samer Constructions Limited had been contracted by Swift Property Management M...

10/08/2020

Closer to home today. Sunny Stockport. Providing advice, method statements and plans of work in preparation for the non-licensed removal of these redundant asbestos cement roof vents from a factory roof.

04/08/2020

Today’s survey is in a very wet Munich. The beautiful Bavarian, former capital of West Germany doesn’t look its best in the continual downpour we’re having.

03/08/2020

This is the second time in twelve months we have carried out an asbestos survey in Düsseldorf. Lovely city and great weather makes up for travelling in these strange times.