Government clampdown on bureaucracy set to kill Site Waste Management Plans
Just over four years ago, there was just one single topic of conversation on the lips of UK demolition contractors – The introduction of the Site Waste Management Plan (SWMP) directive; a formalised way in which to plan and track the demolition waste stream and, thereby, minimise waste to landfill.
Of course, anyone that knows anything about demolition realised at the time that this was a paper-based cure for a non-existent malady. Demolition contractors – particularly those in the UK – send waste to landfill with all the enthusiasm with which an 11-year old girl sends her favourite gymkhana pony to the local glue factory.
But like it does with every unnecessary, onerous and burdensome item of legislation heaped upon its shoulders, the UK demolition industry embraced SWMPs. Individual companies formed working groups and committees to ensure that they fully understood the new directive and its likely implications; the National Federation of Demolition Contractors and the Institute of Demolition Engineers dedicated great swathes of their seminar and committee time to ensuring that members did not fall foul of this latest red tape trap. And a number of consultants and training providers enjoyed a pre-recession spike in their profits, talking companies and their employees through the legal minefield with which each new item of legislation is accessorised.
Yet it now looks as though all of that was for nothing.
The UK government – which is currently enjoying the same level of national popularity as the song “Blue Moon” enjoys in the red half of Manchester – is doing its level best to court business and, of course, the vote of the business community. But, unlike previous governments, it is not in a position to buy those votes with reduced taxes and increased grant funding.
Changes to asbestos regulations – CAR 2012
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 came into force on 6 April 2012, updating previous asbestos regulations to take account of the European Commission’s view that the UK had not fully implemented the EU Directive on exposure to asbestos (Directive 2009/148/EC).
In practice, the changes are fairly limited. They mean that some types of non-licensed work with asbestos now have additional requirements, i.e. notification of work, medical surveillance and record keeping. All other requirements remain unchanged.
What has stayed the same and what has chnged?
Notifiable non-licensed work
All non-licensed work needs to be carried out with the appropriate controls in place. But for notifiable non-licensed work (NNLW), employers also have additional requirements to:
- notify work with asbestos to the relevant enforcing authority;
- ensure medical examinations are carried out; and
- maintain registers of work (health records).
———–
Subscribe here to the Deconstruct blog to keep updated on asbestos removal and asbestos management topics.
If you have an asbestos removal project that requires immediate attention within the London areas, Deconstruct offer an ‘immediate response’ service. Contact us today. Asbestos Removal London Case Study examples can be viewed here.
Contact Details:
Deconstruct (UK) Limited
Silver House
31-35 Beak Street
London
W1F 9DP
T: 0207 734 6655
F: 0207 734 6626
E: enquiries@deconstructuk.comuk.com
Deconstruct support the changes to Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations – CAR 2012
The HSE has announced the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 will come into force on 6 April 2012, these will update previous asbestos regulations in order to take account of the European Commission’s view that the UK had not fully implemented the EU Directive on exposure to asbestos (Directive 2009/148/EC).
In summary, the changes are fairly limited and mean that some types of non-licensed work with asbestos now have additional requirements, i.e. notification of work, medical surveillance and detailed record keeping. All other requirements will remain unchanged, e.g. relating to licensed work with asbestos, duty to manage, risk assessment, the asbestos control limit, control measures and training requirements.
Deconstruct welcome these changes and continue to promote best practice across all their asbestos projects.
Further information will be published on the 6th April 2012 by the HSE via their website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm
The Deconstruct Team
Asbestos Removal London Case Study – Construction
Client: Blenheim House Construction
Location: St Anne’s Court, London W1
Contractor: Deconstruct UK Ltd
Completion Date: September 2011
Sector: Construction
Removal of asbestos containing materials from former recording studios, prior to conversion into a hotel.
About the project:
Deconstruct were contracted to demolish the adjoining office building at Carlisle Street and strip the St Anne’s Court building back to shell and core.
Asbestos was present throughout both properties and had to be completely removed prior to demolition and strip out. The majority of the asbestos was asbestos insulation board (AIB) located behind the acoustic panelling within the basement recording studios.
Project challenges:
With the asbestos insulation board being located behind the acoustic panelling, it was necessary to incorporate the removal of the panelling within the asbestos removal operation.
Deconstruct asbestos removal teams had to deconstruct 6 layers of acoustic boarding and panelling to access and remove the asbestos. The fixings and fittings that secured the acoustic panelling, passed through the asbestos and had to be carefully removed, to avoid uncontrolled damage to the asbestos. A considerable amount of contaminated waste was generated from these works. The waste needed to be carefully transferred from the basement working area, to ground floor level, for collection on a ‘wait and load’ basis.
The waste transfer process was was a very labour intensive operation.
Download the asbestos removal case study for the construction sector here.
Asbestos Removal London Case Study – Healthcare – Private Hospitals
Client: Ayerst Environmental Ltd
Location: Private Hospital in Essex
Contractor: Deconstruct UK Ltd
Completion Date: July 2011
Sector: Healthcare Estates
To carry out a full decontamination of the boiler room at a Private Hospital
About the project:
Deconstruct were appointed to carry out a full decontamination of the main boiler house that served the entire hospital.
Asbestos had been removed from the boiler house previously, but works had been carried out to a very poor standard so residual contamination remained. The Deconstruct team had to carefully clean around all plant, pipework and electrical switch gear to enable the hospitals engineers to work safely within the boilerhouse, without the risk of exposure to asbestos fibres.
Project challenges:
The work area contained many pipes and cables that all had to be cleaned. Careful separation and cleaning of the cables, a slow and labour intensive process was necessary. All walls and pipework
were thoroughly cleaned using hand tools. The boilerhouse was located directly beneath the administrative heart of the hospital. The work was co-ordinated and planned to use the single point of access directly onto the rear of the boilerhouse, thereby keeping our works well away from hospital staff and the public. The works were carried out during a designated shut down period. This meant that works were completed within a strict timescale to enable subsequent maintenance work to be undertaken to enable the boiler house to be re-commissioned before the end of the summer break.
Download the asbestos removal case study for private hospitals here.