Lucion Services is the UK market leader for accredited hazardous material testing, surveying, and consultancy. Providing trusted holistic environmental services to education clients throughout the UK. Our team have worked with over 60 individual local authorities in the last 2 years, independent schools and higher education facilities, who have seen the benefits of engaging a UKAS-accredited company and the UK’s market leader in asbestos management.
Following 8 years of working with our client, Lucion was appointed by a Yorkshire-based school to conduct asbestos refurbishment surveys to ceiling voids in localised area to enable RAAC investigations.
Challenges
Predominantly used from the 1950s to the 1990s RAAC was considered a cost-effective alternative to traditional concrete, offering faster production and easier installation. However, despite its initial appeal, Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) exhibits lower durability compared to conventional concrete, typically lasting around 30 years. What makes RAAC particularly worrisome is its susceptibility to structural failure when exposed to moisture due to its porous nature, which permits water infiltration and can lead to the corrosion and weakening of any reinforcing bar (rebar) within the material.
The dangers of RAAC have brought to light not only structural vulnerabilities but also the potential revival of asbestos-related risk due to asbestos use crossing over with the same period of time during RAAC use. Before Phase 1 RAAC Assessments can be conducted, an asbestos pre-refurbishment survey must be conducted.
The Solution
Lucion’s team collaborated closely with our education client to facilitate asbestos surveys during the weekends, minimising disruption to school operations.
Upon completion of the survey, we diligently updated the data and produced residual risk registers to aid our client in effectively managing ongoing risks during the structural survey works.
Our team have conducted a range of services for our client including:
- Asbestos Bulk Sampling
- Asbestos Testing
- Reassurance Air Testing
- Asbestos Analytical Services
- Asbestos Pre-Refurbishment Surveys
And produced:
- Asbestos Risk Registers
- Asbestos Management Plans
