Asbestos Class B / Non-Friable Removal SWMS

Class B asbestos removal is the removal of non-friable asbestos — bonded asbestos-containing material in which the asbestos fibres are held in a hard matrix, such as asbestos cement sheeting (fibro), corrugated roofing, water and flue pipes, vinyl floor tiles and bonded wall linings. Under the model Work Health and Safety Regulations, a Class B asbestos removal licence is required to remove more than ten square metres of non-friable asbestos, or asbestos-containing dust associated with that removal. While non-friable material releases fewer fibres than friable lagging when intact, removal still disturbs the matrix — breaking, cutting, drilling or dropping bonded sheeting liberates respirable asbestos fibres — and asbestos remains a Group 1 carcinogen, with asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma commonly appearing decades after exposure. This document is written on the basis that non-friable removal is controlled by keeping the material intact, wetting it, and never using methods that pulverise it.

Class B non-friable removal is high risk construction work because it involves the disturbance of asbestos, so a safe work method statement is required, and an asbestos removal control plan must be prepared before licensed removal begins. The controls turn on keeping the bonded material whole: the sheeting is wetted, removed in one piece where practicable rather than broken, lowered rather than dropped, and never cut with high-speed power tools or cleaned up dry. A clearance inspection is required after licensed removal before the area is reoccupied. For Class B work the clearance is a thorough visual inspection by an independent competent person — and clearance air monitoring may also be appropriate based on risk, for example near occupied premises or for large or complex jobs. A clearance certificate can only be issued when the area is clear of visible asbestos contamination, and where air monitoring is used the airborne fibre level must be below 0.01 fibres per millilitre.

Hazards identified

9 hazards covered, sorted by priority.

Control measures

Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.

1. 1Elimination: where the bonded asbestos can remain safely undisturbed and the work does not require its removal, manage it in place under an asbestos management plan rather than removing it.
2. 2Substitution: where removal is required, remove sheeting and components whole and intact rather than breaking them, and select hand methods over power tools.
3. 3Engineering: keep the material intact and wetted — saturate the sheeting before and during removal with a wetting agent to suppress any fibre release, and use HEPA vacuuming rather than dry clean-up.
4. 4Engineering: never use high-speed angle grinders, circular saws or abrasive discs on non-friable asbestos; where a fixing must be released, use low-speed or hand methods that do not pulverise the matrix.
5. 5Administrative: confirm a Class B asbestos removal licence is held and a suitably qualified supervisor is in place where more than ten square metres of non-friable asbestos is being removed, and prepare an asbestos removal control plan before the work.
6. 6Administrative: prepare a SWMS for the high risk construction work, manage any work at height for roof-sheeting removal with edge protection or fall arrest and fragile-roofing controls, and notify the regulator of the licensed removal as required.
7. 7Administrative: remove sheeting in a controlled sequence, lower it to the ground rather than dropping it, and stack and wrap it without breaking, keeping the work area access-controlled and signed.
8. 8Administrative: provide decontamination for workers and equipment so fibres are not carried beyond the work area, and remove and bag disposable coveralls on leaving the area.
9. 9Administrative: wrap or double-bag and label the asbestos waste, and dispose of it at a facility authorised to accept asbestos, with the transport arrangements documented.
10. 10Administrative: arrange a clearance inspection by an independent competent person after the licensed removal — a thorough visual inspection, with clearance air monitoring where appropriate to the risk — and do not reoccupy until the area is confirmed clear of visible contamination, and below 0.01 fibres per millilitre where air monitoring is used.
11. 11PPE: fit-tested negative-pressure respiratory protection appropriate to non-friable removal, selected and maintained per AS/NZS 1715 and AS/NZS 1716, with disposable coveralls removed and bagged at decontamination.
12. 12PPE: gloves, eye protection to AS/NZS 1337.1, and Class I or Class II safety footwear with protective toecap to AS/NZS 2210.3, decontaminated or disposed of as asbestos waste.
13. 13Administrative: confirm all workers hold a valid White Card (General Construction Induction Training, CPCCWHS1001) and current asbestos removal training before the work, and consult the workers and record the consultation.
14. 14Administrative: review and update the control plan and SWMS whenever the removal scope, method or site conditions change, after any incident, or when a worker or health and safety representative raises a concern.

Applicable Codes of Practice

High-Risk Construction Work triggered

Worked example

A Class B licensed asbestos removalist is engaged to remove around eighty square metres of asbestos cement roof sheeting from a shed before demolition. Because more than ten square metres of non-friable asbestos is being removed, a Class B licence and a suitably qualified supervisor are confirmed, an asbestos removal control plan and a SWMS are prepared, and the regulator is notified of the licensed removal. The work is also work at height on fragile roofing, so edge protection and fall-arrest controls and roof-access planning are included. The sheets are saturated with a wetting agent before and during removal, the fixings are released with hand or low-speed methods rather than cut with a high-speed grinder, and each sheet is removed whole and lowered to the ground rather than dropped or broken. Surfaces and debris are HEPA vacuumed and never dry swept. Removalists wear fit-tested negative-pressure respirators and disposable coveralls and decontaminate on leaving the area. The sheeting is stacked, wrapped, labelled and taken to a facility authorised to accept asbestos. When removal is complete, an independent competent person carries out the clearance inspection — a thorough visual inspection, with clearance air monitoring because of nearby occupied premises — and only when the area is clear of visible contamination and below 0.01 fibres per millilitre is the clearance certificate issued.

Related legislation

• Model Work Health and Safety Act — primary duty of care; the duty to consult workers; the reckless-conduct offence; and notifiable-incident provisions, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
• Model Work Health and Safety Regulations — the non-friable asbestos removal provisions and Class B licence and ten-square-metre threshold; the asbestos removal control plan; the clearance inspection by an independent competent person; and the high risk construction work provisions requiring a SWMS for the disturbance of asbestos, as enacted in each jurisdiction.
• Clearance requirements: a thorough visual inspection by an independent competent person for Class B removal, with clearance air monitoring where appropriate, and a clearance certificate issued only when clear of visible contamination and, where monitoring is used, below 0.01 fibres per millilitre.
• Asbestos waste must be wrapped or double-bagged, labelled and disposed of at a facility authorised to accept asbestos in line with jurisdictional waste requirements.
• Victoria operates under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017, with the non-friable asbestos removal, licensing and clearance provisions and Compliance Codes applying in place of the model instruments.

Frequently asked questions