Safe Environments are helping NSW property owners comply with NSW WorkCover requirements of keeping an Asbestos Register onsite.
Asbestos registers are documents, which contain information on Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) within a building that is likely to contain asbestos.
The NSW asbestos register uses risk management principles by:
- Identifying asbestos containing materials within the workplace
- Assessing the risk to health for each asbestos instance identified
- Recommending measures to control the risk to health if required
The identification of asbestos involves a combination of visual inspection of the accessible areas of the building and the collection materials suspected of containing asbestos.
The suspected asbestos samples are then analysed by a NATA accredited laboratory. The results of the inspection are tabulated in a register, which include:
- Location of the asbestos containing material
- Asbestos composition and type through mineralogical analysis and the material friability
- Risk to health based on the condition, potential disturbance and occupancy level
- Recommendations to control or further minimise risk to occupant health
This information is essential to minimise the potential disturbance of asbestos in the workplace, created by contractors conducting maintenance or repair work.
A NSW asbestos register should be reviewed on a yearly basis, or sooner if the material has been disturbed or removed to assess the risk to health.
Any asbestos removals should also be recorded within the Asbestos register. The NSW asbestos register should be integrated within an asbestos management plan.
Safe Environments assist NSW property owners manage asbestos in the work place by setting up and maintain asbestos registers.