Asbestos Air Monitoring in Perth

Removal of friable asbestos-containing materials under a Class A licence requires independent air monitoring to be conducted by a licensed assessor during the works. This is a statutory requirement under the WA Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations and is not discretionary. The monitoring must be performed by an assessor who is completely independent of the removal contractor, and the result must be documented in a written monitoring report.

Class B removal of non-friable asbestos-containing materials does not carry the same statutory monitoring obligation as Class A work, but principal contractors, building managers and many commercial insurers routinely require independent monitoring as a documented safeguard before following trades return to the work area. This is commercially standard practice across most Perth construction and refurbishment projects that involve asbestos-containing materials.

When asbestos-related works are carried out in a building that continues to be occupied by others, such as a strata building, a retail centre or a multi-tenancy commercial building, air monitoring provides documented confirmation that areas outside the direct work zone are not being affected. This supports the building manager's ongoing duty of care to all occupants of the building during the works.

Works near asbestos-containing materials in a school, childcare facility or healthcare setting carry heightened duty-of-care obligations to the people who use those buildings. Independent air monitoring during the works produces the measured record those obligations require and gives the management authority the documented evidence it needs to demonstrate appropriate oversight was maintained throughout the project.

After removal works are complete, before the physical enclosure is struck and before following trades re-enter the work area, air testing inside and around the work zone provides measured confirmation that fibre levels have returned to background. This is more defensible than a visual inspection alone and is a required component of the formal clearance process for Class A removal work.

When asbestos has been inadvertently disturbed during general building or maintenance works, monitoring after the incident provides documented confirmation of whether airborne fibre levels have returned to background before the area is reoccupied or work resumes. Measured data from an independent assessor is far more defensible in a regulatory investigation or insurance context than a subjective judgement call about whether it looks safe to re-enter.

Roof replacement on older commercial buildings frequently involves the removal of corrugated asbestos cement roofing sheets. Air monitoring during this type of project provides documented confirmation that the removal activity is not causing fibre levels in or around the building to exceed the accepted limits, which is important where the building is only partially vacated during the works.