Construction Site Environmental Monitoring – Noise, Dust & Vibration

Consideration to completing environmental monitoring on construction and demolition projects for noise, dust and vibration is now a standard part of the environmental planning stage.

The use of environmental monitoring consultants provides a number of benefits including compliance and provision of important dispute data. Below is a brief outline of this topic:

Compliance

Several regulatory documents govern what is needed and when in relation to construction and demolition site monitoring. The main documents include:

-          Mayor of London Best Practice Guidance – The control of dust and emissions from construction and demolition

-          BS:5228 Noise and vibration control on construction and open sites

-          Considerate Constructor and Considerate Contractor Schemes

-          Local Authority Requirements

-          DEFRA Guidance

Control Limits

Environmental monitoring for noise, dust and vibration can provide a safe guard against nuisance or damage. By setting control limits, alarms can be set to warn if levels have been breached which have the potential for damage or nuisance. These alarms can be discrete, immediate and automated so that action can be taken before a problem results.

Dispute Prevention and Resolution

Environmental monitoring can provide invaluable data as evidence that the project is not causing damage or nuisance to neighbours. If carried out correctly this can prevent or significantly reduce claims against the contractors involved.

In fact if monitoring is undertaken with the knowledge of the neighbours, it can prevent any disputes from occurring at all, as neighbours can see that the contractor is taking steps to safeguard their properties and prevent nuisance occurring.

Data Integrity

To ensure that the data collected from monitoring devices is useful it is very important that certain criteria are fulfilled. The list below will help to prevent money being wasted on monitoring which does not ultimately provide the evidence or preventative measure required.

-          Design of environmental monitoring plan including control limits

-          Calibration of devices

-          Correct setup and use of devices

-          Impartiality of those taking and logging the results

-          Report quality

For more information on construction site environmental monitoring please contact us.
0870 950 0161

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Legionella - What You Need to Know...

Legionella risk assessment and Legionella monitoring are simple processes in controlling the risk from Legionella bacteria in most water systems, read on to find out what you need to know...

What is it?

Legionella is a term for a group of bacteria which, if inhaled, can cause Legionnaires Disease. This disease is a form of pneumonia which proves fatal in about 10-15% of cases.

What regulations do I need to follow?

There are a number of regulations and guidance documents that deal with the risk from Legionella bacteria, however the main documents are the Health and Safety at Work Act and ACoP L8.

ACoP L8 is provided by the HSE to offer specific guidance on how to control the risk from Legionella including management, record keeping, training and practical tasks.

Where is the risk?

Legionella are water based bacteria commonly found in water systems such as domestic hot and cold water, cooling towers, drinking water etc.

In practise any water system has the potential risk from Legionella associated to it.

What do I need to do?

The first step is to carry out a risk assessment of the water systems you manage. This must be carried out by a competent person, as whoever completes this document is taking responsibility for the risk and so must understand it.

There are really only 2 steps to most Legionella control programmes:

Legionella Risk Assessment – Every 2 years (or when something significant changes)

Routine Legionella Monitoring – This is set out by the risk assessment but is likely to include basic temperature checks, physical inspection and sampling.

In most cases trained site staff carry out the more basic tests leaving only quarterly, 6 monthly or annual visits for a specialist contractor.

Things to check

1. Make sure any specialist contractor you employ is a member of the Legionella Control Association (LCA)

2. Impartial and independent advice is crucial. Make sure you are happy the contractor is not just trying to make work for themselves! Employing an independent consultant is one way of achieving this.

3. Keep records of the good work you are doing. Without written confirmation in your site log book the HSE could assume it never happened!

And finally…

Legionella is a real problem which according to the HPA is greatly under reported. They estimate the true level of infection is approximately 5000 a year*, and so effective control is essential for both those at risk and those managing water systems.

*HPA presentation at the Combating Legionella conference 2010.

Please contact us for more information on Legionella control and we will be happy to help.
0870 950 0161.

For industry news and updates follow us at http://www.twitter.com/Riverside_Env

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Riverside Director Offers Expert Opinion on BBC News

Riverside Director and ATaC Chairman Jonathan Francis interviewed by BBC news about problems with asbestos management in schools.

If you need help in managing the risk from asbestos, please contact us and we will be very happy to help.

Riverside Environmental Services Ltd provide high quality exposure assessment and monitoring services nationwide. Including; Asbestos, Legionella, COSHH, Air Testing, Occupational Health, Noise and Vibration. See our full list of services for details.

For more information please contact us.

info@riversideenvironmental.co.uk

www.riversideenvironmental.co.uk/

0870 950 0161