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- The national asbestos agency says it is “not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself”, though in Victoria the Better Health Channel says householders may legally remove it from their own property, and recommends that only a licensed professional removes loosely bound material. The national agency adds that a licensed asbestos removalist is the safer choice.
- WorkSafe Victoria says exposure to every type of airborne asbestos fibre is hazardous to human health.
- Asbestos fibres are most likely to be released when asbestos material is disturbed, for example by drilling, cutting, sawing or breaking it. Victorian guidance warns against power tools, abrasive cutting or sanding discs, compressed air, high-pressure water jets, and dry-sanding, wire-brushing or scraping a surface before painting it. WorkSafe Victoria’s flood-recovery advice adds that when you clean asbestos material that is still in place and not damaged, you should avoid high-pressure washers or water blasters, which can damage it and spread asbestos debris and fibres, and power tools or abrasive materials such as sanders. Better Health says never to saw, grind, drill or break asbestos with power tools, and to use hand tools if you must. The national agency adds that you should never clean asbestos with high-pressure water or anything abrasive, such as scrubbing, sanding or grinding, because it can spread contamination widely.
- In Victoria, asbestos waste may go only to a site EPA Victoria has authorised to accept it, and EPA keeps the list of landfills licensed for asbestos waste. It must never go in a general, recycling or green waste bin.
4.1 Which checks a job needs
| The job | Visual inspection | Air monitoring | Clearance certificate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only non-friable material, 10 m² or less in total | Not required | Not required by these rules, which apply to Class A work | Not required |
| Other Class B work (non-friable) | Required | Not required by these rules, which apply to Class A work | Required before the area is re-occupied |
| Class A work (friable) | Required | Required before and during the work if it is indoors, or outdoors and a risk to others; then at the end, inside the enclosure | Required, stating the air result where monitoring was required |
4.2 What the certificate says
WorkSafe Victoria’s 2019 code describes a clearance certificate as a written statement that the named asbestos materials have been removed from a specific area and the area has been cleaned of visible debris from that removal. Under regulation 297, it must state two things:
- an inspection has found no visible asbestos residue left by the work, in the work area or the area immediately around it; and
- where air monitoring was required, the airborne asbestos fibre level in the work area is below 0.01 fibres per millilitre (f/ml).
The code adds that the certificate goes to the asbestos removal supervisor before the signs and barricades come down and anyone moves back in.
4.3 Who obtains it, and who may give it
Usually the person who commissioned the work obtains the certificate, not the licence holder. The code’s exception is a home used solely as a home, where the owner commissioned the removal: there, the asbestos removal licence holder must obtain it.
The certificate comes from an “independent person”, a term the Regulations define. The code explains it as someone separate from whoever is doing the removal, the licence holder and whoever commissioned the work, with no conflict of interest and the knowledge, skills and experience for the task. A director, an employee or anyone with a financial stake cannot fill the role, and nor can a consultant who engaged the removalist on a project.
For a visual inspection or a clearance certificate, the code expects that person to know the risks of asbestos exposure, to be able to recognise what is or may be asbestos and inspect an area thoroughly, to have experience relevant to the kind of job, and to know safe removal methods, the removal industry and Victoria’s health and safety law.
The code gives an occupational hygienist as an example of a suitable person, and suggests asking for referees and for examples of clearance certificates the person has issued on other jobs.
4.4 Air monitoring on friable jobs
For Class A work, the person who commissioned it must arrange air monitoring before the work begins and for as long as it runs, if the work is indoors, or outdoors and a risk to other people. At a home used solely as a home, the Regulations treat the asbestos removal licence holder as the person who commissions the work, so this duty sits with the licensed removalist, not the owner. At the end, monitoring inside the enclosed area must confirm a fibre level below 0.01 f/ml , and the code says it is done both before and after the enclosure comes down.
The removalist may not dismantle the enclosure until results show the level does not exceed 0.01 f/ml. If a result is 0.01 f/ml or higher, the code says no certificate can be issued; the area is cleaned again, for example by wet wiping and vacuuming, and tested again.
Putting 0.01 in context
Victoria’s workplace exposure standard is 0.1 f/ml, averaged over an eight-hour working day in a person’s breathing zone. WorkSafe stresses that this standard is not a risk-free level. Asbestos in Victoria says ordinary background air usually holds between 10 and 200 fibres in every 1,000 litres.
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Before a licensed job starts, it is reasonable to ask the removalist who will do the clearance inspection and when the certificate will be issued.