Hazards assessment Gibson House Seabank Road Wallasey

Transcription

1 APEC e n v i r o n m e n t a l APEC Environmental Ltd. 9 Telford Court, Dunkirk Lea, Chester Gate, Chester, CH1 6LT Tel: Fax: Website: Client: One Vision Lead Surveyor: D. Mills Atlantic House Assistant Surveyor(s): D. Wilson Dunnings Bridge Road Date of inspection: 11 June 2012 Bootle Report Reference: CH DM L30 4TH Date of Report: 18 th July 2012 Hazards assessment Gibson House Seabank Road Wallasey North East Office: South Yorkshire Office: environmental analysis, monitoring and consultancy Registered in England No VAT No Apollo Court, Koppers Way, Monkton Business Park South, Hebburn, Tyne & Wear, NE31 2ES Tel: , Fax: Office 14, The Business Centre, Bow Bridge Close, Templeborough, Rotherham, S60 1BY Tel: , Fax:

2 Introduction Gibson house originally constructed in 1906 for the widows of seafarers has been vacant for approximately ten years. In view of a possible acquisition for conversion into domestic flats, a walkthrough hazard assessment has been carried out as instructed by Mr Mark Howard on behalf of One Vision Housing, Atlantic House, Dunnings Bridge Road, Bootle. This report indicates the general hazards found in this building including fire and water damaged rooms and asbestos materials. This report is aimed solely at providing guidance for permitting a walkthrough survey of the premises and should not be used for the instruction of any works involving the movement or disturbance of the materials in the building. Asbestos air testing was carried out during this exercise which was aimed to be representative of the level of disturbance and dust-raising activities anticipated during a walkthrough survey. Executive Summary Damage within the building is commonplace. Typically, this has resulted in tripping hazards, missing floorboards, weak floors and asbestos debris. It is noted that pigeon waste is also present throughout the upper floors. Asbestos contamination was found in the majority of the basement area, where asbestos pipe insulation is present in a poor condition. It is recommended that the basement area is not accessed during the planned walkthrough survey unless significant cleaning, encapsulation and/or removal of the ACM s has been undertaken. Aside from the identified heavily fire and water damaged rooms, the remainder of the building was be deemed safe to access, under the proviso that P3 filter dust masks, disposable coveralls and overshoes are worn and that transit is restricted to the centre of the walkways, avoiding five specific locations which require remedial action. Further air monitoring could be carried out to provide evidence for exposure levels experienced at the time of third party occupation. As a consequence of metal theft, insulation board firebreaks and boxings have been damaged at high level in the main corridors. This has resulted in insulation board debris immediately beneath these areas. These debris would not be disturbed providing transit was undertaken centrally to these routes. Three areas on the ground floor have been highlighted which, since debris is present centrally to the corridors, would require a localised clean if passage is intended to be made beyond these areas. Air monitoring carried out during the survey by APEC measured only a negligible concentration of respirable airborne fibre, which was below the clearance indicator of 0.01 f/ml of air. However, it is recommended as a precautionary measure that P3 filter dust masks, disposable coveralls and over shoes are worn. These items should then be disposed of as contaminated waste. Page 2 of 18

3 Tripping Hazards and sharp edges Tripping hazards are present throughout the building. Typical examples are illustrated below. Many areas of the building are poorly lit and portable lighting would be recommended to be carried by each person entering the building. Location: First floor extension. Hazard: tripping and sharp edges Location: Second floor. Hazard: Inconsistent flooring Page 3 of 18

4 Fire & Water Damage Various fire and water damaged rooms where identified. These rooms (highlighted in blue on the plan) should not be entered since the floors and ceilings may be unstable. Location: Basement/Ground floor Hazard: Fire & water damage Location: Basement/Ground floor Hazard: Fire & water damage Page 4 of 18

5 Pigeon Waste Pigeon waste is endemic throughout the upper floors. This material may pose a health risk when inhaled. P3-filter dust mask are sufficient for providing respiratory protection against this so long as disturbance is kept to a minimum. Location: Second floor Hazard: Pigeon waste Page 5 of 18

6 Asbestos hazards Asbestos-containing materials are present throughout the building. Originally introduced into the building to provide fire-protection and as insulation to pipework, these materials pose a high risk if disturbed since the fibres which they contain can become easily airborne. Other ACM s such as floor tiles, textured coatings and bitumen products are also present, although they present a far lower risk given the scope of the proposed activities. Some of these materials have become damaged by activity within the building and as a consequence exist in a damaged state as well as being present as debris. These areas should be avoided as disturbing them could easily raise airborne asbestos fibres, (e.g. by walking over them). Areas where asbestos debris to possible transit routes have been identified are marked on the plans in red. Basement The basement area as a whole contains significant amounts of contamination arising from both damaged asbestos insulation board and damage to pipework insulation. It is recommended that the basement area is not accessed during the planned walkthrough survey, unless damage & debris in this area has been addressed accordingly. Examples can be seen below: Location: Basement Hazard: Asbestos pipe insulation Page 6 of 18

7 Location: Basement floor-void Hazard: Insulation debris to floor Location: Basement Hazard: Asbestos pipe insulation Page 7 of 18

8 Ground Floor Insulation board debris is present in a number of locations. These have resulted from metal theft of pipework running along one side of the corridor. These debris have in general accumulated directly beneath the area of damage, leaving the central portion of the corridor free. Areas of debris have been highlighted in red on the plans and should be avoided by walking along the central part of the walkways only. Blue areas indicate rooms with significant fire and water damage. Typical examples of the damaged firebreaks and associated debris can be seen below: Location of damage to firebreak above fire door Location: Ground floor Hazard: Damaged insulation board Page 8 of 18

9 Location of insulation board debris below damaged firebreak Location: Ground floor Hazard: Insulation board debris Location of damage to insulation board boxing in corridor Location: Ground floor Hazard: Damaged insulation board boxing Page 9 of 18

10 Three locations where identified on the ground floor (numbered 1, 2 and 3 on the plan) where insulation board debris had accumulated more centrally to the corridor route and as such localised cleaning should be carried out if transit to the areas beyond these locations is intended. An environmental clean of approximately 2 to 4m 2 would suffice for allowing for these areas to become transitable. Ground floor: Example of damaged insulation board boxing Ground floor: Example of Insulation board debris in corridor transit route Page 10 of 18

11 First & Second Floor The first and second floors also contain insulation board debris. These areas are highlighted in red. Those which would require remedial access to permit safe transit across have been numbered as locations 4 and 5 accordingly. First floor: Example of damaged insulation board boxing First & Second Floor: Example of insulation board debris Page 11 of 18

12 Third Floor The third floor contained no visible asbestos hazards, however excessive amounts of pigeon waste is present as well as water damaged areas and poor quality of flooring. Third Floor: Unsafe flooring and pigeon waste Page 12 of 18

13 Fire & water Report damaged Ref: CH DM areas Asbestos debris Basement Page 13 Area of 18

14 1 2 3 Ground floor Page 14 of 18

15 4 First Floor Page 15 of 18

16 5 Second Page 16 Floor of 18

17 Third Floor Page 17 of 18

18 Appendix APEC Environmental Report (Air Ref: monitoring) CH DM Page 18 of 18