HSG 264 Asbestos: The Survey Guide

1st March 2010

From the 29th of January 2010 the MDHS 100: Surveying, Sampling and Assessment of Asbestos Containing Materials in Premises for Management Plans will be replaced and expanded by the HSG 264 Asbestos: The Survey Guide.

The new HSG 264 Asbestos Guide has been developed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to stop confusion surrounding the MDHS 100 document which was criticised for being unclear.

The new guide is intended for people who are responsible for conducting or commissioning asbestos services and who have a specific responsibility to manage asbestos in accordance with the Control of Asbestos Regulation (CAR) 2006.

As laid out in the ‘HSG 264 – Asbestos: The Survey Guide’ found at www.asbestosinspectionbodies.co.uk some of the key areas included are:

• UKAS Accreditation demonstrates Technical Competence for undertaking surveys.
• Type 1 & 2 Surveys are now termed Management Surveys and Type 3 Surveys are now termed Refurbishment and Demolition Surveys.
• A Survey Strategy has been detailed for both non-domestic and domestic properties.
• Further emphasis and importance has been placed on the Survey Planning Phase of a survey.
• Survey Report and Asbestos Register complexity and format has been detailed.
• The approach a Duty holder should take to check a survey in respect to accuracy, suitability and adequacy is more clearly defined.
• The survey planning phase should aim to reduce any caveats and areas of no access as far as is reasonably practicable.

The HSG 264 booklet can be purchased from the HSE website http://www.hsebooks.co.uk and will include in-depth information on the topics listed below in addition to extensive appendices and references.

• Competence and Quality Assurance Procedures
• Asbestos Surveys
• Survey Planning
• Carrying out the survey (surveying)
• Survey Report
• Dutyholder’s use of survey information

To download the Asbestos Survey Guide please select this link http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg264.pdf