Asbestos air monitoring is a legal requirement for all friable asbestos removal works and should also be used for any bonded asbestos removals where:

• The works are indoors;
• The works may impact on others (for example if a minimum 10-metre exclusion zone cannot be established); or
• It is requested by neighbouring properties or other stakeholders.

Sometimes people also request air monitoring as an air quality check to allay concerns about a recent disturbance to asbestos materials or to assess a site’s safety for airborne asbestos fibres.

Greenlight offers a fast 48-hour asbestos air monitoring service. Our consultants are tertiary qualified, licensed asbestos assessors. All sample analysis is carried out in a NATA accredited laboratory. An asbestos clearance certificate can be added into your air monitoring run for low-cost package rates.

For our industry partners, with regular air monitoring required, we have even more competitive scheduled rates available. Begin a partnership with Greenlight and request a schedule today. You will be provided with a custom link for easy online bookings anytime.

We are always happy to talk over your worksite and answer questions in detail on 03 9048 4411.

The scene is familiar: I walk up to one of our trusty asbestos air monitoring pumps and there is a man looking at the numbers on the front panel with a worried frown. The number ticks up from 314 to 315. His eyebrows shoot up. “Those are minutes,” I tell him. Understanding breaks as he nods his head. His eyes do not move from the monitor.

Currently, there is not an easy or affordable way to measure airborne asbestos fibres in real-time – the main problem is that the equipment that will do that is too costly. Instead we, as an industry, use a process where air is drawn over a membrane filter which is then analysed in a NATA accredited laboratory. Results are mostly given on the next day or same-day basis depending on the time of completion.

There is some new tech just around the corner that will change all this (Artificial Intelligence combined with micro-photography!) but for now, the industry cannot deliver results in real-time.

The regulations in Victoria require that a ‘competent person’ carry out these works, but what does that mean? The regulations very loosely define this as someone familiar with the use of equipment, asbestos hazards and measurement techniques with appropriate training and experience.

Air monitoring for asbestos is at essence an occupational hygiene assessment and as such should only be carried out by trained professionals. Make sure your consultant can tick these boxes as a minimum:

• They have a tertiary qualification in science, engineering or occupational hygiene;
• They work for an occupational hygiene company such as Greenlight;
• This one’s important – they are not a former or current asbestos removalist (conflict of interest and unqualified), and ideally,
• They have been issued with an asbestos assessors license by one of the states (note: currently Victoria does not issue asbestos assessors licenses, however, most other states do).

Ideally, the asbestos air monitoring report should clearly state the qualifications of the technician towards the front of the document as well as containing a NATA accredited laboratory analysis report.

Our air monitoring team are trained and qualified to meet the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Work Safe regulations 2017. All consultants are

• Tertiary qualified in either science, engineering or occupational hygiene;
• Members of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists; and
• Members of the Safety Institute of Australia.

Greenlight can also provide asbestos clearance certificates, pre-demolition or refurbishment asbestos registers and next-day asbestos testing available with couriers provided or samples collected as needed.

Make a Booking, or call us on 03 9048 4411 and book in your asbestos air monitoring in Melbourne today.