Asbestos

Note: below there is some work in progress on the Department policy and guidance

This page contains the following information:

Policy
Departmental Organisation
Asbestos Materials Present in the Department
When does asbestos present a danger?
Old Equipment
Emergency Procedures
Training

Policy

The Head of Department will take overall responsibility for identifying and controlling risk inherent to the activities of all departmental staff, students and visitors, as set out in the University of Cambridge Health and Safety Policy.

The Head of Department has authority to delegate the role of coordinating departmental safety arrangements to another member of staff.

Persons coordinating the local procedures for asbestos management will be supported by University specialists competent to advise and who should be consulted whenever advice, guidance or further information is needed.

The department has a strict rule that asbestos-containing materials are not to be disturbed, worked on or damaged.

All proposed building work must be notified to the Laboratory Superintendent. Any minor work required inside office spaces or laboratories which will involve drilling or screwing things to walls or panels must be arranged through the Maintenance team, in order to ensure that asbestos materials and asbestos debris are not disturbed. No person in the laboratory is permitted to enter the ceiling voids or the sub-floor voids, or to drill into the walls, unless under a safe system of work devised and implemented by Maintenance, supported by the Asbestos team in Estate Management. These restrictions apply to the Garage, Mott, Bragg, Link and Rutherford Buildings.

Where refurbishment works are carried out, a licensed contractor is called in to remove the asbestos materials. Removal is not always complete - sometimes the cladding around the steel columns is left in place. Clearance certificates are obtained and stored by the Safety Officer. Estate Management is notified in advance.

Departmental Organisation

Person of Authority (Head of Department)	Professor James Stirling
Location of Asbestos register Information and Records	s:\Asbestos\asbestos_survey_data (at December 2012) The Online Asbestos Register is not yet available to this department
Departmental Contact (Person coordinating procedures and records held)	Peter Norman
Contact in absence of coordinator	Keith Matthews, Jane Blunt

University Contacts

Safety Office, 16 Mill Lane	Tel: 01223 3 33301 email: safety@admin.cam.ac.uk
Estate Management (EM) Asbestos Team 74 Trumpington Street, Cambridge	Tel: 01223 7 66760 email: asbestos.management@admin.cam.ac.uk
University of Cambridge Asbestos Management Plan	http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/em/safety/asbestos/management.html or EM Asbestos Team

Asbestos Materials Present in the Department

The site contains 8 buildings; all except the garage and Physics of Medicine were built to the CLASP methodology. The Mott, Rutherford, Link and Bragg buildings were constructed in the 1970s and it is probable that they are Mark 4B CLASP buildings.

The buildings that contain asbestos materials within the fabric of the building are:

Rutherford
Link (somtimes known as Workshop building by EM)
Bragg
Mott
Garage

Those that do not contain asbestos materials in the fabric of the building (built in 1990 or later) are:

Microelectronics/Hitachi
Kapitza (formerly known as IRC in Superconductivity)
Physics of Medicine

Estate Management commissioned a type 2 survey in 2002, and a follow-up survey was conducted in 2006. It is recognized that a type 2 survey is limited in that some materials are presumed to be asbestos, where they may not be, since invasive exhaustive testing is not done. Also there remains the possibility that asbestos that is hidden from view is not identified in such a survey, since a type 2 survey does not normally involve dismantling parts of the building. Maintenance personnel and contractors therefore remain at risk from such materials.

The results of the survey are in a series of descriptive files and drawings. A copy of these is lodged at S:\Asbestos\asbestos_survey_data and is accessible using the ARMS software, a copy of which is currently on the computers of the following people:

Laboratory Superintendent, Peter Norman
Maintenance Manager, Keith Matthews
Safety Officer, Jane Blunt

The typical locations of asbestos-containing materials include:

The cladding around the steel columns
Panels above windows and doors
Panels lining the stairwells
Battens on the perimeter of suspended ceilings
Window sills
An interior layer within the fire doors.

Further investigations were undertaken in 2011-12, which revealed further asbestos deposits above the ceiling tiles in certain areas, and in the underfloor service areas. As a result of these investigations certain walls have been identified as areas of increased risk, since drilling into these walls is capable of disturbing loose asbestos fibres. For this reason NO work involving fixing things to the walls shall be undertaken without gaining approval from the Laboratory Superintendent or Head of Maintenance. These restrictions apply to the Mott, Bragg, Link, Garage and Rutherford Buildings.

Many of the visible materials have been labeled with a discreet white label bearing a sample number and a date. Some typical samples are shown in the photographs.

The visible asbestos-containing boarding has all been encapsulated or sealed. The condition of these materials is generally good, having been re-inspected and remedial work done in early 2007. While these materials remain in good condition the risk to people entering and/or working in the department is low.

The pillars remain an area of concern. In some CLASP buildings these have been damaged by furniture movements and, when struck, in some buildings asbestos fibres have been released from the casing. During remediation works in January 2007, air monitoring was carried out by Redhill Analysts, some of it close to pillars. Their report created 23/1/07 indicates that no elevated fibre counts were reported in these buildings. They also report that:

'In conclusion, it is my opinion that the presence of these AIB panels is not currently causing elevated airborne fibre readings within the buildings. They are fully encapsulated at occupied levels and although exposed within the ceiling voids,.... , those inspected are painted and in good condition. Metal clad columns at occupied levels appeared to be undamaged and had not been used as a fixing point'.

Columns that are vulnerable to damage include those supporting the bridge across the goods-in area. These have been given additional protection with angle-aluminium and pillars to reduce the likelihood of damage by vehicles.

When does Asbestos Present a Danger?

Asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma and lung cancers. For this to occur the fibres must be inhaled and therefore, provided the material does not become airborne, it does not pose a significant risk. For those who are interested, there is a lot more information on the HSE website at this location.

Virtually all the asbestos materials that are visible are covered with paint, which encapsulates the material and prevents the release of fibres. Keeping this paint in good condition is therefore a priority. Please do not stick posters to them using blu-tack, sticky tape or by other means. Please avoid hitting the materials with tables, chairs, gas bottles, trolleys etc. If you do this by accident, please follow the emergency procedures below.

However, above the ceilings there is some loose sprayed asbestos, which has been there since the buildings were erected. It is important not to disturb this.

Old Equipment

There is a strong possibility that there is equipment in the department that contains asbestos. This is most likely for furnaces. Please would members of staff who own old equipment (pre 1999) read the document Asbestos in old equipment.

If you have equipment that contains asbestos it is acceptable to continue to use it, if it is in good condition. If you have such a piece of equipment, please ensure that you notify the Safety Officer, so that it can be entered into the asbestos register, and ensure that people who use the equipment are fully informed about the presence of asbestos and how to avoid the risk of disturbing it.

Emergency Procedures

Members of the Department and Contractors must report the following to the Laboratory Superintendent or the Safety Officer immediately

any discovery of material that might contain asbestos, other than the obvious materials shown in the handout. This could include things such as mats which have been stored in drawers, gaskets on furnaces.
any damage to asbestos-containing materials. This could include events such as a collision between a trolley and an asbestos panel.

If asbestos is damaged, or asbestos is discovered which is unexpected during the course of a project, the following actions must be taken:

Immediately clear the area of all personnel and isolate the area, e.g. if in a single room, close all the doors. Turn off air conditioning/warm air systems if possible.
Prohibit access to the area.
Inform the Laboratory Superintendent, Maintenance Manager or Safety Officer.
Inform the Asbestos team at EM, details below.

	Telephone	email
EM Asbestos team	01223 (7) 66760	asbestos.management@admin.cam.ac.uk
Out of hours emergency number	07919058321
Address	Asbestos Management Estate Management University of Cambridge 74 Trumpington Street Cambridge CB2 1RW

Training

All persons whose work makes them liable to come into contact with asbestos, or who manage or supervise such employees require training.

Such training consists of:

E-learning for the approved users of the Online Asbestos Register for system navigation purposes
Asbestos awareness training, and refresher training, for staff whose work makes them liable to come into contact with asbestos. This includes maintenance, the workshops and computer support staff.
Asbestos management training for those who plan and manage works

Training records are kept in the Department Training Records, accessible from the Safety Officer's computer.

Further information on the training programme is available via the tab on the left hand side.

Reference

CAW2012, Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, SI 632

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/632/contents/made

Appendix A: Handout for Contractors

Appendix B

Fri 25/11/2011 09:52

Important Message from the Head of Department : Physics - Infrastructure issue

To: all members of the Laboratory

Colleagues will be aware that EMBS have started a major project to replace the cooling water system in the Laboratory, starting in the Rutherford building. In the course of this work, a small amount of debris containing asbestos was found in the void above a ceiling. This is not connected with any previous work in the building, but as you will be aware, the Mott, Bragg, Link and Rutherford buildings were constructed at a time when asbestos was a commonly used building material. (The other buildings are later and are free of asbestos).

Mott, Bragg, Link and Rutherford Buildings only.

As a precautionary measure, EMBS are undertaking further inspections of the ceiling voids, especially focused on the corridors. This may involve closing parts of the buildings at times. We will give as much notice as possible and do all we can to minimise disruption to normal business and operations. Tests have already been carried out on the air quality below the ceilings and the results have been within the expected safe ranges. Until we get more details from the surveys, however, no-one on any account must work in the ceiling voids or disturb the ceiling tiles unless authorised by the Safety Officer or Laboratory Superintendent.

We will update everyone as more information becomes available.

===========================================

Professor James Stirling CBE FRS
Head of Department
Department of Physics
University of Cambridge
Cavendish Laboratory
J J Thomson Avenue
Cambridge CB3 0HE

Tel: +44 (0)1223 337429
Fax: +44 (0)1223 760520
Email: headsec@phy.cam.ac.uk

This page was last updated on 10th December 2012

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