Remediation of Asbestos in Soil
IEG Technologies UK Ltd provides a one stop shop management service designed to remove the health & safety and commercial risks associated with the presence of asbestos-containing
building materials on brownfield development sites.
Asbestos contamination on such sites may have resulted from asbestos product manufacturing, licensed waste disposal acitivites, or from the inadvertent or deliberate mixing of asbestos waste with
soil and demolition rubble. Whilst the treatment of land contaminated with such asbestos-containing materials, including asbestos insulation, asbestos coatings, asbestos insulating board and asbestos
cement is not covered by an Approved Code of Practice, health & safety, as well as waste management, legislation and must be considered.
All asbestos minerals are classed as carcinogens all are therefore classified as "hazardous waste" and fall within the requirements of the The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005,
if the asbestos content of the waste is greater than the carcinogenic threshold concentration of 0.1% w/w.
The Environment Agency has set procedures for threshold concentration determinations for loads of mixed construction and demolition wastes. In order that it can be defined as Hazardous Waste,
or otherwise, it is first necessary to define the weight of the waste. There are several scenarios to be considered which can be applied to the classification of asbestos-contaminated waste:-
(a)
Homogeneous loads, e.g. well mixed soils, demolition waste, etc. The weight of waste would be the weight of the entire load. If a representative sample of material gives a concentration of greater
than 0.1 % asbestos, the entire load is classified as Hazardous Waste.
(b)
Hot Spots, e.g. contaminated soils. The weight of the waste would be the weight of the sample that could be taken from the waste and analysed, with a minimum of 150 g (3 x 50 g
sub-samples). The waste is Hazardous if the threshold concentration of 0.1 % asbestos is exceeded for any 150 g sample.
(c)
Nuggets. These would be discrete items within a load of waste which could be separately handled, e.g. a whole sheet of bonded asbestos cement in a skip. Here each item which is
capable of being separately handled should be considered to determine if it is Hazardous Waste. Since asbestos cement contains greater than 0.1 % asbestos, it would be classed individually as
Hazardous Waste.
With respect to contaminated material with less than 0.1 % asbestos, i.e. Non-Hazardous Waste, careful disposal will still be required in accordance with procedures for "difficult" Controlled
Waste, since, with asbestos at concentrations of >0.001 % w/w in loose soils and/or aggregate, it is possible for airborne concentrations of asbestos fibres to reach or exceed 0.1 fibres/millilitre
of air. This requires the application of an analytical method capable of detecting down to 0.001% w/w asbestos.
IEG works with clients and their advisers from the outset of a project to formulate an effective and practical strategy for investigating and remediating sites that could
potentially be contaminated with asbestos.
Working with our preferred independent partner UKAS-accredited laboratories and nationwide specialist asbestos in soil remediation contractor,
AAR Environmental Limited, IEG can provide a tailored package of works that is designed to facilitate the timely and cost effective remediation of a site whilst minimising costs
and environmental impact.
Our turnkey service encompasses:-
• soil sampling
• bulk sample analysis and determination of asbestos type and quantification
• semi-quantitative risk assessment
• site remediation concept design and planning
• controlled-conditions remediation, including pre-sorting/bulking of asbestos waste and bulk excavation
• project management and site supervision
• Hazardous waste disposal
• reassurance boundary air monitoring and personal sampling
