Full PPE Included
Written by Tom Yates . Edited
Fact Checked by William Wright, NEBOSH
Before you attempt to take a sample of suspect materials to test for asbestos its important you know the risks of disturbing asbestos containing materials. Asbestos is a carcinogen and has proven links to cancers and a range of respiratory diseases. The risk arises when asbestos is disturbed causing asbestos fibres to become airborne and potentially inhaled. This is why its very important to wear appropriate protective clothing & respirators and minimise fibre release when taking a sample.
As a precaution when taking a sample its important to wear the below PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as a minimum.
The first step is the clear the area around where you will be taking a sample from. We advise removing soft furnishings from the immediate area and covering the floor beneath where the sampling will take place with a plastic sheet to catch any dust.
Once this has been done and you have a nice clear working space, it is recommended you open the windows in the room (if there is any) to provide air flow.
Now put on all the personal protective equipment listed above,
Ask anyone who is not wearing PPE to leave the room and close the door.
It is now time to begin taking a sample, before disturbing any material use the water sprayer to wet the surface down (mix water with a few drops of washing up liquid) spray the surface to saturate the area - This should help prevent fibre release when the material is disturbed.
Depending on the surface you'll be sampling either use pliers to break off a piece, or use the sharp chisel to scrape off a sample into sealable / zip-lock sample bags.
Have a sample bag in hand ready to collect the sample as you begin scraping, alternatively holding one of the wet wipes under the chisel ready to catch any falling debris.
If taking a sample of textured coating / artex its important to take a sample from 3-4 locations of the same surface to ensure the sample is representative of the area. this is due to the nature in which artex was mixed and applied. The multiple scrapings can be put into the same sample bag.
Once a sample has been taken, you will now need to place the sample bag into a 2nd sealable bag - This process is called double bagging the sample. This is to provide an extra layer of protection incase the initial bag breaks.
The double bagged sample can now be packaged for sending or taken to a UKAS accredited laboratory for testing.
You should now seal up the area where you have taken a sample by either covering it with duct tape, or painting over the disturbed area.
You should now spray down any polythene sheeting on the floor incase there is dust / debris on it. Then carefully fold up the sheet and place into a red asbestos waste bag for disposal.
Next wipe down your coverall and mask with a wet wipe (you can also spray down the coverall and mask before removing it to prevent any dust being airborne when removing the PPE.
Remove the PPE (coveralls, gloves, then mask) and place into an asbestos waste bag.
The red asbestos waste bag should then be sealed and placed into a clear asbestos waste bag which should then also be sealed (using duct tape). You should then take this asbestos waste bag down to your local refuse centres of disposal.
Full PPE Included
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