Demolition of buildings or structures with fire-damaged non-friable asbestos-containing material

Asbestos and fire

Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) are very common in buildings and structures built before the mid to late 1980s. There have been occasions where ACM has been used in isolated incidents after this date.

ACM are commonly found in walls, splash backs, vinyl floor coverings, roofs, eaves, fences and electrical switchboards. Most ACM within homes are non-friable. This means they cannot be crumbled, pulverized or reduced to powder by hand pressure and do not normally release asbestos fibres into the air when left undisturbed.

When non-friable ACM is damaged by fire, the matrix holding the material together may break down, causing it to become friable.

Friable asbestos when dry, or as a result of a work process, may be crumbled, pulverized or reduced to a powder by hand pressure and can easily release fibres into the air, which can create a risk to the health of exposed persons.

Scope of guidance

This guidance is for persons with management of control of a workplace, employers, self-employed persons and/or persons wanting to remove asbestos in circumstances where a fire has damaged a building or structure that contained, or was suspected to contain, non-friable ACM.

This guidance falls under Part 4.4, Division 6 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (OHS Regulations). Division 6 applies to carrying out demolition work at a workplace on a building or structure where asbestos is identified or assumed to be present. This includes domestic premises that become a workplace due to the demolition works.

Note: duty holders may also have duties under other Divisions of Part 4.4. These must be adhered to in addition to the relevant duties in Division 6.

Identifying the presence of asbestos in fire-damaged buildings or structures

Before any demolition or refurbishment works being carried out to a building or structure, there is a requirement to identify whether asbestos is present that is likely to be disturbed by the proposed demolition or refurbishment work.

This obligation falls on persons who manages or controls a workplace, employers at a workplace and employers or self-employed persons doing the demolition or refurbishment on domestic premises.

How to identify whether asbestos is present

The asbestos register

If the building or structure is an established workplace, an asbestos register should be made readily available.

Persons, including employers, with management or control of the workplace must provide the employer or self-employed person performing the demolition work with a copy of the asbestos register.

The employer or self-employed person performing the demolition work must obtain the asbestos register from the person with management or control of the workplace.

If the building or structure is ordinarily a domestic premises, it is unlikely that there will be an asbestos register.

Where there is no asbestos register

Where there is no asbestos register, if there is uncertainty, based on reasonable grounds, as to whether asbestos is present in a building or structure to be demolished or refurbished, the employer or self-employed person doing the demolition or refurbishment work must either:

1. assume that asbestos is present; or
2. arrange for analysis of a sample to be undertaken to confirm that it is not present

Taking and analysis of a sample

When a sample is to be taken as a way of identifying ACM — this should be carried out by a competent person with the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience. For example, an Occupational hygienist with asbestos experience.

The competent person should decide if the fire damaged ACM is in a friable or non-friable condition.

If it is difficult to determine the condition of the ACM or there are areas that are inaccessible that are likely to contain asbestos, then it should be assumed that all ACM is friable.

When taking samples, control measures, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), should be implemented before entering the site.

If sampling is required for asbestos identification purposes, then analysis of samples must be done by an asbestos analyst, with the results accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA).

Removal of fire-damaged ACM

Where ACM is identified, or in circumstances where it must be assumed present, persons with management or control of a workplace — including employers and self-employed persons performing demolition work on a domestic premises — must ensure the ACM is removed before demolition, so far as reasonably practicable.

Non-friable ACM

Where the presence of ACM has been identified as non-friable, removal can be completed by a Class B (non-friable) asbestos removal licence holder.

Note: Non-friable ACM that is less than 10 square meters in quantity and will take less than one hour in total to remove in any 7 day period does not require an asbestos removal licence to remove the ACM.

Friable ACM

Fire-damaged ACM which has become friable or may become friable as a result of work process must only be removed by a person who holds a Class A (friable) asbestos removal licence. A person who holds a Class B asbestos removal licence is not permitted to perform Class A (friable) asbestos removal work.

To clarify any uncertainty regarding the terms and conditions of a Class A or Class B asbestos removal licence, discuss with the licence holder or contact WorkSafe.

The person who has commissioned the Class A asbestos removal work, must arrange for asbestos para-occupational air monitoring to be done before the asbestos removal work starts and during the work, if the asbestos removal work will be performed indoors.

Asbestos para-occupational air monitoring must also be arranged by the same person, if the work will be performed outdoors and will create a risk to others. For example, neighbouring properties.

Asbestos para-occupational air monitoring may be done by an Occupational hygienist, with results accredited by NATA.

Work cannot resume and the area cannot be returned to normal use until the results of the most recent para-occupational air monitoring confirm that airborne asbestos fibre levels do not exceed 0.01 f/ml.

Structurally unsound buildings

Where the building or structure has been judged to be structurally unsound or in danger of imminent collapse by a structural engineer or as part of an emergency order issued under the Building Act 1993, access to certain areas of the building or structure may be prohibited. In those circumstances it may not be possible to take samples to confirm the presence or absence of ACM.

The employer or self-employed person doing the demolition work must start an identification based on reasonable grounds. It is recommended that this identification is taken in consultation with a competent person, such as an Occupational hygienist with asbestos experience.

The identification should comprise the age of the building and what can be seen from the outside of the building or structure. Where there is uncertainty of the presence of ACM, it must be assumed to be present.

If ACM has been identified or assumed to be present, emergency procedures can then be put in place where demolition may occur before the asbestos removal, but there are still asbestos-related duties which need to be complied with before demolition.

Before an emergency demolition, persons with management or control of the workplace, as well as employers and self-employed persons performing demolition work at a domestic premises, must:

• consider the asbestos register
• document a procedure detailing how they will reduce the risk of asbestos exposure to anyone in the vicinity of the demolition site — this can be done through consultation with a competent person, such as an Occupational hygienist
• notify WorkSafe Victoria in writing of the person's contact details and location of the emergency immediately after the emergency is known and before the commencement of demolition. This can be done through WorkSafe's advisory service

Asbestos removal notification requirements

The asbestos removal licence holder must provide notice to WorkSafe before starting asbestos removal work:

• at least 24 hours before the proposed work starts for non-friable ACM of 10 square metres or less
• at least 5 days before the proposed work starts in any other case — including friable ACM, or non-friable ACM greater than 10 square metres in total

Fire-damaged structures can remain vacant for long periods before clean-up, and as a result will not be judged as an ‘unexpected situation’. Exceptions may be made if a competent person, such as a structural engineer, decides the structure to be an immediate risk of collapse.

Before the asbestos removal starts, the person who commissioned the asbestos removal work must inform all employers and other persons occupying the premises in the immediate and nearby areas, to where the removal work will happen.

Notification periods for asbestos removal in an emergency situation must comply, so far as is reasonably practicable, with the standard asbestos removal notification periods contained in Subdivision 6 of Division 7 of Part 4.4 of the OHS Regulations.

Asbestos-contaminated soil

The soil below and surrounding the fire-damaged structure can contain broken pieces of ACM.

After the removal of ACM from a fire-damaged structure, the soil surface should be assessed by the asbestos removalist for any residual debris.

If non-friable pieces of ACM are found in small quantities, a hand pick can occur to remove the ACM, but if there is significant amounts of non-friable ACM or the asbestos is friable, the surface of the soil should be removed as asbestos-contaminated waste. This can be achieved by scraping back and removing the top layer of soil, approximately 100 mm, from the asbestos removal area. If the surface is still not visibly clear of any ACM, further surface scrapes may be required.

Visual inspection and clearance certificate

At the end of the asbestos removal work and when the area is made safe, the person who has commissioned the asbestos removal work must arrange for a visual inspection by an independent person, such as an Occupational hygienist, to verify that there is no visible asbestos remaining.

A clearance certificate is then issued by the independent person following the completion of the visual inspection.

A visual inspection is not needed if the asbestos removal work involved only the removal of non-friable asbestos-containing material less than 10 square metres.