Asbestos guidance not up to scratch
The technical guidance on investigating, analysing and treating asbestos in soils needs to greatly improve, warns the Environmental Industries Commission (EIC)
According to a survey of practitioners by the EIC, 97% of the 231 respondents – which range from environment consultants and remediation contractors to laboratory organisations and regulators – believe that, despite a range of disparate guidance notes, there is a lack of targeted technical guidance for the assessment and remediation of asbestos in soils.
Almost all respondents (96%) claim that their organisation’s activities would benefit from such guidance, including improving their ability to better comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The lack of comprehensive technical guidance has led to confusion, says the EIC.
“The Regulations apply as much to asbestos on land and in soil as to asbestos in buildings, but where there is a wealth of official regulatory guidance for asbestos in buildings, there is a relative dearth for soils,” said Steve Forster, EIC member and director of IEG Technologies.