Asbestos surveys

'Artex' is often used as the generic name to describe a textured decorative coating spray applied to walls and ceilings. Early forms frequently contained asbestos fibres, used as binder to add strength and substance to the coating. Manufacturers stopped using asbestos circa 1985 and man-made mineral fibres were used as an alternative.

The fibres are bound into the matrix of the material and sealed by the decorative coating which is frequently overpainted. In addition the material is usually applied as a fairly uniform thin coating 2-3mm thick, thus the number of fibres per square metre of coating is small.

As it is a decorative coating, where it is used it is usually applied in large quantities to the exposed surfaces of walls, ceilings and soffits.

'Artex' was often hand mixed on site so the material is seldom uniform. Therefore, several representative samples may be required to establish whether asbestos is actually present. Also, the material is difficult to disperse and thus it is difficult to analyse its contents.

Sometimes fillers or sealers were used to prepare the concrete substrate and these may also contain asbestos.

CAR 2012 makes a distinction between a coating containing asbestos which is applied primarily for decorative purposes and that used for fire protection or as insulation. Both are spray applied but while the former is usually only a thin textured layer often less than 3mm thickness, the latter is applied thickly and often loosely with the outer surface sealed by a thin hard coating.

The HSE have reviewed their assessment of risk arising from the former and concluded that it is 1,000 times less than for other licensable materials. Consequently the Approved Code of Practice distinguishes between the two types as follows:

• an 'asbestos coating' is a surface coating which contains asbestos for fire protection purposes or as both heat and sound insulation - it does not include the base material to which the coating has been applied;
• an 'asbestos-containing decorative coating' refers to thin decorative and textured finishes such as paints and ceiling plasters used to produce visual effects. These coatings are designed to be decorative and any thermal or acoustic properties are incidental to their purpose. The proportion of asbestos is 'normally less than 4%'.

CAR 2012 reflects this distinction in the requirements and controls of works to the two different forms of composition.

The ACOP states that work with textured decorative coatings 'will not normally' have to be carried out by a person licensed to work with asbestos, however a risk assessment is required and the same criteria checked to see whether it still falls within the regulation 3(2) exceptions.