Asbestos certification, handling, or removal has to be done by competent professionals who comply with the various regulations established for these purposes. As a property owner, you will need to know which certification is applicable in a particular situation to ensure you are hiring a competent individual or company to attend to your needs. The same applies if you are interested in working as an asbestos inspector or removal contractor.
Who Can Work With Asbestos?
Contrary to popular belief, there are a number of occupations in the construction and renovation industry that can work with asbestos. They must also comply with the regulations outlined in the asbestos Code of Practice for the Safe Removal of Asbestos. They can only work with bonded asbestos that is less than 10 square meters and must complete any of the following courses to get the necessary accreditation to work with, but NOT remove asbestos:
Friable asbestos – If asbestos is friable and it has been determined that it should be removed, it must be removed by a Class A licensed removalist as soon as reasonably practicable. Instances where removal should be of the highest priority would include friable asbestos that is in poor condition and is located in an area where it poses a significant risk of exposure.
Non-friable asbestos – If asbestos is non-friable, is more than 10 m² and has been determined that it should be removed, it must be removed by a licensed asbestos removalist as soon as reasonably practicable. Where it is not reasonably practicable to remove it, control measures must be put in place to eliminate any exposure, so far as is reasonably practicable, or to minimise exposure so far as is reasonably practicable, but always ensuring the exposure standard is not exceeded.
