Practice Note for Authorized Persons, Buildings Department Registered Structural Engineers and ADV-1 Registered Geotechnical Engineers Asbestos Exposure to asbestosis hazardous to health. As a general ue all persons involved inthe design, construction, and maintenance of buildings must avoid the use of asbestos containing material (ACM) and ensure thatthe removal of ACM from existing buildings willbe carried out only by registered asbestos personnel, Prohibition 2 ‘The use of asbestos and ACM in any industial or manufituring process including any building operation are prohibited under the Factories and Industal Undertakings (Asbestos) Regulation (Cap S9AD). Effective from 4 April 2014, the impor, transhipment, we and supply of asbestos and ACM are banned under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance (APCO) (Cap 311, whilst ACM present in exiting buildings will not be affected, Control and Abatement Works 3 Certain building activities, such as the clearance of unautrorised building ‘Works, and repair or demolition of existing buildings, may involve the handing of in-situ ‘ACM, Such atvities should be conlled and where necessary, abatement works should be carried out. Generally speaking, forall building works where ACM is present or suspected to be presen, the contol and abatement measures requied include the following. (appointment ofa registered asbestos consultant as ealy as possible to cary ‘out an asbestos investigation; (©) as part of the investigation of suspected ACM, possibly the taking of samples for testing by a registered asbestos laboratory; (©) for cases where the presence of ACM is confirmed, preperation and submission of the following tothe Environmental Potecion Department erp): = an Asbestos Abatement Plan forthe planned removal af ACM; andlor = an Operation and Maintenance Plan for defered treatment, eg. encapsulation, enclosure, ofthe same; (© appoinment of a repistered asbestos contractor fo carryout the removal ‘works under the supervision of an asbesos consultant; Bday2. (©) 28-day advance notice to EPD before commencement of works; (protection of the workers in accordance with the requirements of the Labour Department (LD) ; and (@) proper disposal of asbestos contaminated waste in accerdance with the requirements of EPD. 4 For more effective contol of the ini ACM and to ensure better protection for personnel working in the related building sites, all authorized persons and festered sual engine ae advised to ake he allowing sop (complete asbestos investigation and abatement of the ACM before commencement of ether building activities; (©) reftain unauthorised personnel, the scavengers in particular, fom entering the works ste, before completion ofthe asbestos investigation with all the insity ACM inventoried, photographed, conspicuously labelled and segregated; and (©) ask the registered asbestos consultant supervising the abstement works to certify sucessfal completion of the abatement works in accordance with the asbestos investigation report andthe abatement plan, and immediately potty EPD of the same, General Information s LD, through its Occupational Safty and Health Branch, gives advice on the health and safety of workers engage in any work involving ACM. 6. ‘The Asbestos Management and Control Section of EPD gives general vice on asbestos managensent and abatement techniques and keeps reser OF asbestos consultants, asbestos contactors, asbestos supervisors and asbestos labostores. 2 For certain asbestos abatement works involving only low ssk and readily identifiable non-Yable ACM, the requirement of the services of an asbestos consultant and/or an asbestos contactor may be exempied, The exemption lst was published inthe Gazette Notice 25/1997 - GN 3021 and GN 3022 on 6 June 1997, and a py of which is available at BP's website: hips/ivw:epd gov hl. 8 Relevant information on the subject ean also be found in the following publications (@) Code of Proctice: Safety and Health at Work with Asbestos published by LD. (©) Health Hazards of Asbestos published by LD. Sets(©) 5 sets of Code of Practice on Asbestos Control published by EPD Handling, Transportation and Disposal of Asbsstos Waste; Preparation of Asbestos Investigation Repost, Asbestos “Management Plan and Asbestos Abatement Plan; Asbestos. Work Using Full Containment or Mini CContsinment Method; Safe Handling of Low Risk Asbestos Containing Material and Asbestos Work Using Glove Bag Method. (©) 3 eaflets published by EPD = Environmental Asbestos Control; Asbestos Removal of Unauthorised Building Works; and Banning Asbestos. (©) Practice Note 297 Handling of Asbestos Containing Materials in Buildings issued by the Professional Persons Environmental Consultative Commitee (Code of Practice for Demolition of Buildings published by the Buildings Deparment Ref: BDGRBMM {A similar practice note has been issued to registered contator. (HUI Siu-wai) Building Auorty BDGRI-10460 ‘This PNAP is previously known as PNAP 114 First issue September 1985, Last revision November 2012 ‘This evision January 2015 (ADICS) (General revision)