Following 15 years of  managing asbestos on the highways network in accordance with HSG264, and meeting the requirements of GG 105 and CAR 2012, we are proud to announce that, after a competitive tender event, our specialist infrastructure team have secured a 7 year contract with National Highways, providing essential asbestos surveying and testing services to the North West and South West regions.

About National Highways

Converted to a government owned company in 2015, National Highways manages 4,300 miles of Strategic Road Networks (SRN), National Highways (formally Highways England) operates, maintains and improves motorways and major A roads across England. 

National Highways’ purpose is to deliver a better service for road users and to support a growing economy with 3 key priorities: safety, customers, and delivery. With a reported 4 million journeys across the SRN every year, planning and designing safe roads, and meeting the highest levels of safety possible is key to National Highway’s success. Since 2015, National Highways has invested billions in the planning and development of the SRN, with an ongoing programme of works to make sure their roads and the various structures along them are safe.

As part of their development process, National Highways went to tender for essential asbestos surveying and testing services seeking a trusted service provider who could deliver a national service at the local level.

After a competitive tender event, our specialist infrastructure team has secured a 7-year contract with National Highways. Our Infrastructure division includes specialist Highways Asbestos Surveyors and Civil Operatives who are specifically trained for working in highways environments. The team is spread nationwide enabling us to easily cover the North West and South West regions where we will be providing our services. As a national provider with a regional presence, our team can deliver a reliable service with reduced travel emissions while mitigating the risk of delays and disruption to project programmes.

Andrew Wise, Lucion Account Manager (Infrastructure), commented on the contract win saying;

"We’re incredibly proud to have been awarded the opportunity to continue such a strong and long-standing working relationship with National Highways. We are a reliable and dependable choice for conducting these services for National Highways due to our expertise in the field of asbestos surveys and testing, including over a decade of experience on highways."

Asbestos On Highways - Managing The Risks

With much of the UK highways infrastructure over 20 years old, one of the biggest risks associated with renewal schemes, repair and maintenance are the hidden dangers of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) and other hazardous materials contaminating the land.

Our asbestos surveys are conducted in line with the Land Contamination Risk Management Guidance (LCRM) and in line with guidance and our UKAS ISO 17020 and ISO 17205 accreditations. As the UK’s leading asbestos services provider, National Highways will benefit from significant cost savings as we arrange and deliver services using in-house resources for asbestos inspection and testing works instead of sub-contracting this to another supplier. This means we can plan and deliver work efficiently, whilst maintaining control of scheduling and quality control.

As further support of efficiency, we operate our own in-house laboratory, used for asbestos sample analysis. The laboratory is equipped with an asbestos in soils analysis suite and a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for greater risk assessment capabilities.

As our lab is Europe’s largest asbestos testing laboratory, all of our asbestos testing activities are subject to strict assurance measures to ensure integrity and impartiality. Our BOHS qualified SEM analysts participate in proficiency schemes administered by the Health and Safety Laboratory for external integrity monitoring;

• Asbestos in Materials Scheme (AIMS)
• Regular Interlaboratory Counting Exchange (RICE)
• Asbestos in Soils Scheme (AIS)
• Scanning Electron Microscopy Scheme (SEMs)
• Low Asbestos Content Scheme (LACS)

Trusted Industry Experts

As part of the Lucion Group, we are a purpose driven company where we protect people from hazardous environments and protect the environment from the impacts of people. Working with the Construction Industry Research and Information Industry Association (CIRIA), we have supported the development of new and practical interactive tools to help groundworkers and other construction site workers manage asbestos-contaminated materials on site.

Our experiences working with CIRIA and achieving UKAS accreditation for Soil Sampling and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis means our specialist infrastructure team can offer a range of contaminated land services, tailored to provide a solution that will help deal with the most complex scenarios in an efficient and cost effective manner. Our range of services include:

• Asbestos in soils and contaminated land surveying and analysis
• Environmental site audits
• Site investigation specifications
• Factual or interpretative reporting
• Remediation management
• Exposure Assessments

Get In Touch

Whether you are renewing existing highways or developing new highways on brownfield land or regular lands, it is important to identify and assess your lands for potential hazardous materials and substances that can pose a risk to individuals and the environment by conducting hazardous material surveys on highways prior to any commencements of project works.

Contact our team today. Click 'Make an Enquiry' now or give our team a call on 0345 5040 303.