Under the WHS Regulation, the following apply to issuing the asbestos clearance certificate:
- For non-friable (bonded) asbestos removal work – visual clearance inspection carried out by an independent competent person or by an independent licensed asbestos assessor and (if required) clearance air monitoring (eg. if the removal work is near a public area) carried out by an independent licensed asbestos assessor
- For friable asbestos removal work requiring Class A asbestos removal licence:
-visual clearance inspection; and
-clearance air monitoring carried out by an independent licensed asbestos assessor.
What the Asbestos Clearance Certificate Must State?
The clearance certificate must be in writing and must state that the assessor or competent person found no visible asbestos residue from asbestos removal work in the area, or in the vicinity of the area, where the work was carried out; and if air monitoring was carried out by the assessor as part of the clearance inspection, the airborne asbestos fibre level was less than 0.01 asbestos fibres/mL. For workplaces that are non-residential premises the person who commissions licensed asbestos removal work at a workplace must ensure that the asbestos inspection is carried out as per the above requirements. For workplaces that are residential premises the licensed asbestos removalist must ensure that the asbestos inspection is carried out as per the above requirements. If the asbestos clearance certificate has not been obtained, the asbestos removal work area cannot be re-occupied for normal use. Most local councils require an asbestos clearance certificate issued by an occupational hygienist following the removal of asbestos as part of the condition of local council development application.
Asbestos Clearance Certificate Examples
An example of an asbestos clearance certificate will include the details of the person who undertook the clearance, their licence number, NATA accreditation number, verification methods including air monitoring results where applicable, name and details of the licensed asbestos removalist, date of the clearance inspection and a clearance declaration.
Asbestos Check recommends that the person or company issuing the asbestos clearance certificate be independent and accredited by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) to ensure that the company is reputable and that quality is assured. When air testing is required, the fibre concentration needs to be less than 0.01 fibres per millilitre before a clearance certificate can be issued.
Safe Work Australia Code of Practice document on How to Remove Asbestos Safely indicates that for a company to be independent, the licensed asbestos assessor or consultant or company which they work for be involved in the removal of asbestos for that specific job. Common industry practice is that the person or company who undertakes air monitoring also provides the asbestos clearance certificate; however this is not enshrined within the NSW state workplace health and safety regulation.
Who Can Issue an Asbestos Clearance Certificate?
In Melbourne, a ‘competent person’ must carry out clearance inspections which is someone with sufficient training and experience to identify the relevant hazards. There are examples in the industry of unqualified people issuing clearance certificates. As a minimum, ensure that your inspector has, as a minimum:
A tertiary qualification in science, engineering or occupational hygiene;
Works for an occupational hygiene company such as Greenlight;
Is not a former or current asbestos removalist; and ideally,
Has been issued with an asbestos assessors licence by one of the states (note: currently Victoria does not issue asbestos assessors licences, however, all other states do).
If the inspector has been issued with a licence, then their competence has been independently vetted by Work Safe based on a review of their past work and qualifications.
The asbestos clearance certificate should clearly state the qualifications of the inspector towards the front of the document. If this is not stated, the person may not be regarded as competent and the document itself is non-compliant.
Asbestos Clearance Requirements
The code of practice “How to Safely Remove Asbestos” states “A person commissioning licensed asbestos removal work must ensure that, once the licensed asbestos removal work has been completed, a clearance inspection is carried out and a clearance certificate is issued before the workplace can be re-occupied by:
an independent licensed asbestos assessor, for work that must be carried out by a Class A licensed asbestos removalist (for example, if the removal work involved friable asbestos)
an independent competent person, for asbestos work that is not required to be carried out by a Class A licensed asbestos removalist (for example, if removal work involved more than 10sqm of non-friable asbestos).
This also includes where the work is being carried out at domestic premises.
To be independent, the licensed asbestos assessor or competent person must not be involved in the removal of asbestos for that specific job and is not involved in a business or undertaking involved in the removal of the asbestos for that specific job. The WHS regulator may allow certain situations.
Prior to issuing a clearance certificate, the independent licensed assessor or competent person must be satisfied that the asbestos removal area and the area immediately surrounding it are free from visible asbestos contamination. To do this, they must conduct a visual inspection for evidence of dust and debris. If air monitoring was also conducted, the results of that test must show that asbestos is below 0.01 fibres/ml of air.
If a clearance certificate has not been issued, the asbestos removal area must not be re-occupied for normal use or other work activities. A clearance certificate must be issued before the area can be re-occupied for demolition or other work.
Unauthorised persons cannot enter the asbestos removal work area prior to a clearance certificate being issued and any protective barricades should remain in place until the completion of all licensed asbestos removal work and the final clearance certificate is issued.
Our competent consultants and licensed asbestos assessors undertake clearance inspections of any asbestos removal job and issue clearance certificates in accordance with Appendix C of the code of practice “How to Safely Remove Asbestos”.
Reference-
Thank you for reading this information about asbestos, we have written an article on the best 30 “Asbestos Removal Melbourne” Companies. Please take a read.
https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/
