BOHS announces the closure of ABICS
Published: 06/10/2010 10:19:10
It is with deep regret that the British Occupational Hygiene Society [BOHS] announces the closure of the Asbestos Building Inspectors Certification Scheme [ABICS].
Steve Perkins, Chief Executive of BOHS, states, “Despite the support of the Health and Safety Executive [HSE], the cooperation with UKAS, and the high level of initial interest from individual surveyors that ABICS has always generated, we have come to the conclusion – after eight years of significant and unsustainable investment - that a voluntary certification scheme is not viable in the extremely competitive environment of asbestos surveying.”
It was recognised many years ago that there are individual asbestos surveyors who are competent but who operate as sole traders or in small companies outside UKAS accredited organisations, and who are not likely to apply for UKAS accreditation for commercial reasons. The concept of personal certification was developed out of recognition of this need, and ABICS finally achieved UKAS accreditation as a personal certification scheme in February 2009, launching as a cost-effective alternative to company accreditation for individuals and smaller companies.
At BOHS we remain committed to the control of exposure to asbestos at work and in the community, and we maintain our original position, behind the decision to develop ABICS in the first place, that competence is key in this particular sector where lives can be put at risk through incompetence. It is estimated that there are between half a million and a million non-domestic properties which still contain asbestos, and there is an increasing requirement for the more invasive refurbishment/demolition surveys which are particularly demanding. In the worst case scenarios, incompetent surveying can and does result in uncontrolled exposure to asbestos if a tradesperson disturbs a material they wrongly believe to be free of asbestos: there are some 4,000 asbestos related deaths annually in the UK, with the greatest occupational risk for tradespeople, such as electricians, plumbers and joiners, etc.
Many BOHS members have seen the results of poor asbestos surveys and report that dutyholders – anyone with repair or maintenance responsibilities of commercial premises who must have a plan for managing any asbestos containing materials within the premises they own or occupy - are often unsure how to identify high quality surveyors. “Unfortunately, the closure of ABICS means there is now no means for individual surveyors to demonstrate their experience and competence”, explains Martin Stear, Chair of the ABICS Management Committee, “but without a mandatory requirement built into legislation, this clear need for personal certification, and the high level of interest in ABICS, is not translating into an adequate demand in the form of actual applications from surveyors or specifications from dutyholders. Sadly, therefore, the trustees and directors of BOHS have made clear that the Society can no longer justify support or resource for a scheme which is clearly not working.”