Anthrax Testing & Sampling UK
Casa’s Anthrax Sampling and Testing Service ensures you’re meeting your obligations set out by Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations.
Anthrax is present within buildings across the UK, with plaster being reinforced with hair taken from animals, such as horsehair, which may have been contaminated with anthrax. Anthrax spores can lay dormant for decades, or even hundreds of years. When buildings are disturbed through building projects or refurbishment and demolition works, there is the risk of potential human exposure from virulent spores.
What is anthrax?
Anthrax is a persistent bacterium which lives as spores in hairs and hides in livestock like horses and cows, exposure of which can lead to serious infectious disease. Historically, this hair was mixed in plaster and applied to wooden laths in construction, used to create interior walls and ceilings. These spores can lay dormant before infecting a host.
During certain refurbishment or demolition works of historic buildings, there is the risk of anthrax within these traditional plasters and risk of exposure.
The Construction, Design, & Management (CDM) Regulations of 2007 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations of 2002 make anthrax surveying of historical properties prior to work starting a legal requirement to minimise the health risk of any construction or demolition activity.
Anthrax Testing with Casa Environmental Services
There are numerous benefits to testing waste wood for disposal rather than automatically declaring it as hazardous. Hazardous wood waste is more costly to dispose of than safe, tested wood or wood that has been classified and therefore disposed of in the appropriate way.
Anthrax surveys follow a similar process to other hazardous materials:
- A Casa surveyor will visit the site to inspect the property. They will visually identify period plaster finishes containing hair to both ceilings and walls.
- Once the substrates have been identified the process of sampling different plaster around the property will then begin. The sampling must be completed properly, and the samples must be large enough to provide accurate results and to be compliant .
- Following the site survey, all samples are incubated and cultured over a 10-day period in order to conclude whether the samples contain any anthrax.
- These samples will then be sent to a UKAS Accredited Laboratory for testing. You will then be provided with a detailed report of the sample analysis outlining any impact or consideration to the construction work.
Survey & Testing Solutions from Casa
As UKAS accredited inspection body, we supply expert surveying and management services throughout the UK. Our aim is to provide a seamless professional service that not only meets or exceeds your needs but does so at a competitive price.
Get in touch with a member of the Casa team today to see how we can help you!
Explore some of our most recent projects & case studies:
Get a Quote Today
To request a quote or find out more information about our anthrax testing services, speak to a member of the Casa team today!
Our highly competitive rates combined with excellent delivery and customer service make us one of the most trusted survey and testing providers in the UK. With offices in Bristol, Southampton, Plymouth, Cornwall and Stafford, we offer our services nationwide.