Amongst the range of environmental services offered by MCL, asbestos consultancy forms an integral part of the company.  MCL retains a large number of in-house registered asbestos consultants to ensure adequate resources are made available to the projects at hand.  Being a sister company of Fugro Technical Services Limited, MCL has direct access to HOKLAS accredited laboratory services.  This promotes a smoother transfer of analytical data and facilitates a faster response time for both the reporting and supervision work.

The handling and/or abatement of asbestos involves a stepwise approach that is briefly outlined below:

1. Asbestos investigation – A survey will be carried out to determine if asbestos containing materials are present on site.  A physical inspection of the premises and building plans, and interviews with relevant personnel will all form part of the investigation.  Bulk samples of the suspected materials are usually taken.

2. Asbestos Abatement Plan (AAP) and Operation & Maintenance Plan (O&MP) – Should asbestos be identified during the investigation and removal be selected as the preferred option, an AAP would be implemented to provide a methodology for its safe and cost effective removal.  Alternatively, an O&MP would be developed and implemented if maintenance of the asbestos containing material is favored.

3. Supervision of Asbestos Removal – The abatement of asbestos will be closely monitored to ensure removal is carried out in accordance with the approved AAP and all relevant government legislation.  If the asbestos is to be maintained, a comprehensive surveillance scheme would be implemented to monitor the physical condition of the asbestos containing material on a regular basis.