Speaker profile - Wayne Bagnall

Wayne Bagnall. (Photo: Wayne Bagnall)

Presentation
Implications of legacy asbestos spacer blocks in demolition

The reason for presenting this paper is to raise awareness of the wide use of asbestos cement reinforced spacer blocks manufactured and installed in reinforced concrete structures during the 1960s and 1970s predominantly to ensure steel reinforcing has sufficient coverage of concrete and found mainly in floors and soffits.

Many of these older buildings are now being demolished or remodelled where these spacer blocks are likely to be disturbed and although they pose a very low risk to a person’s health, we must all be on the lookout for these asbestos spacers and undertake analysis to confirm if they contain typically chrysotile (white) asbestos or not.

Concrete containing these asbestos spacer blocks must be identified with additional measures employed over and above conventional damping down to minimise the risks from respirable crystalline silica (RCS).

Biography
Wayne Bagnall

Wayne is a registered consultant operating a specialist asbestos and demolition safety consultancy that provides expertise, advice, training and support to ensure safe and cost-effective projects.

Previously he worked in the family business in asbestos removal and demolition, managing major projects.

Wayne set up his consultancy, Wayne Bagnall Consulting, in 1999 and has authored and delivered national guidance for the United Kingdom’s Health and Safety Executive, Construction Industry Training Board, and British Standards Institute.

He has an MSc in construction (health and safety) management and a full member of the Chartered Management Institute and Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, and an honorary fellow of the Institute of Demolition Engineers.

The World Demolition Summit is organised by KHL Group magazine Demolition & Recycling International, along with the European Demolition Association and the US National Demolition Association. The headline sponsor is Volvo Construction Equipment.

For details of the full conference programme, the various speakers and how to register as a delegate, please visit demolitionsummit.com