- ACM
- Asbestos-containing material. Any product that has asbestos in it.
- AIB
- Asbestos insulating board. A soft board with a high asbestos content, used for fire protection and insulation.
- Amosite
- Brown asbestos. Common in insulating board. Banned in 1985.
- Analyst
- A person, independent of the removal contractor, who carries out air testing and clearances.
- ASB5
- The form a licensed contractor sends to HSE at least 14 days before licensed work.
- Chrysotile
- White asbestos. The most common type, found in cement, floor tiles and textured coatings. Banned in 1999.
- Clearance indicator
- The air test level, 0.01 fibres per cm3, below which an area can be handed back.
- Consignment note
- The legal document that travels with hazardous waste to the disposal site.
- Crocidolite
- Blue asbestos. Used in some sprayed coatings and lagging. Banned in 1985.
- DCU
- Decontamination unit. A three-stage shower unit used by workers on licensed jobs.
- Dutyholder
- The person or organisation responsible for managing asbestos in a non-domestic building.
- Encapsulation
- Sealing an asbestos material so that it cannot release fibres.
- Enclosure
- A sealed, air-tight work area built from polythene around licensed removal work.
- Four-stage clearance
- The checks an independent analyst makes at the end of licensed work before an area is reoccupied.
- Friable
- Easily crumbled. Friable materials release fibres more easily and are higher risk.
- H-class vacuum
- A vacuum cleaner with a high-efficiency filter, made for hazardous dust such as asbestos.
- HSG264
- The HSE's guide to asbestos surveys.
- Management survey
- The standard survey for a building in normal use.
- NNLW
- Notifiable non-licensed work. Lower-risk work that must still be reported to HSE.
- NPU
- Negative pressure unit. A filtered fan that keeps air flowing into an enclosure, not out of it.
- R&D survey
- Refurbishment and demolition survey. The intrusive survey needed before building work.
- RPE
- Respiratory protective equipment, such as a fitted mask with a P3 filter.
- UKAS
- The United Kingdom Accreditation Service, which accredits laboratories and inspection bodies.
More guides
What Is Asbestos and Why Is It Dangerous?A plain-English guide to asbestos, the main types and why breathing in the fibres causes disease.Where Asbestos Is Found in HomesThe most common places asbestos turns up in UK houses built before 2000, from garage roofs to boiler cupboards.Management vs Refurbishment and Demolition SurveysThe two types of asbestos survey under HSG264, what each one involves and which one you need.The Duty to Manage Asbestos ExplainedWhat Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 means for owners, landlords and managers of non-domestic buildings.