Do you inspect premises for asbestos?
Do you occupy premises which may contain asbestos?
Then you should know about ABICS…

Regulations which came into force on 21 May 2004 mean that people responsible for maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises in Britain must have a management plan for asbestos on their premises.

This means that those responsible will usually will need to know where asbestos-containing materials are and their condition, so that they can tell their employees and anyone else liable to disturb it. This is in response to the high proportion of asbestos related deaths in trades such as electricians and plumbers who have been exposed during building maintenance.

Most buildings built before about 1990, and some since, are likely to have some asbestos in them. In many cases premises will need a survey by a trained professional.  ABICS is an independent certification scheme which aims to provide a pool of personnel who have demonstrated their qualifications and experience in this field.  For more details, see About ABICS.

ABICS has been set up by the Faculty of Occupational Hygiene (FOH).  FOH is the British professional body for occupational hygienists, who are expert on control of risks to health at work.  For many years FOH, and its predecessor the British Institute of Occupational Hygienists (BIOH) has been setting syllabuses and exams for training courses on various hazards, including those from asbestos in buildings.  FOH is now part of the British Occupational Hygiene Society, founded in 1953 to bring together those concerned with health risks resulting from work.

Applications for ABICS certification are now being processed - see documents section for application forms and candidate  information.