BOHS P403 - Asbestos Fibre Counting (PCM) (including Sampling Strategies)

£560 ex VAT & a BOHS exam fee of £335.00 per delegate



Syllabus/Course Structure and Assessment

The main subject areas of the course are:

Candidates are required to pass all of the following parts (A, B and C below) to be awarded the module:

A: The Practical Assessment

The practical assessment must be conducted by the Tutor during the relevant part of the course for all candidates. This is to ensure that every candidate can demonstrate their individual ability and correct method for:

B: Written Examination

This is an open-book examination comprising of approximately 30 (120 Marks) short-answer questions illustrated by photographs and diagrams as appropriate to be answered in 120 minutes. The examination covers sections ALL sections of the syllabus with achievable marks in proportion to the time allocation given on the front page of the syllabus and is overseen by a BOHS invigilator. The overall pass mark is 55% with a requirement to reach at least 45% of the available marks in each section of the syllabus.

C: Practical Examination

This is an open-book examination which requires candidates to count eight prepared microscope slides that are supplied by BOHS in a time allowance of 4 hours. Candidates will be expected to achieve at least an equivalent to RICE category B performance or better on all slides with a one slide exception.

Who is this course suitable for?

  • Required to undertake asbestos fibre counting as part of their work
  • Considering a career in asbestos analysis
  • Responsible for managing asbestos analysts
  • Prior Knowledge and Understanding Candidates for this course are expected to be aware of HSG 248 Asbestos: The Analysts' Guide (July 2021), and in particular Appendix 1, Fibres in air: sampling and evaluation of by phase contrast microscopy. Candidates will preferably have prior experience of analysing fibre count samples and may already be participating in a quality control scheme. In addition, candidates are expected to have had training to cover the core competencies outlined within the foundation material detailed within Table A9.1 of HSG248 Asbestos: The Analysts' Guide (July 2021). This may be achieved by In -house learning or through the P400 foundation module.

Course Timing

Duration: 3 days

Start time: 9am on course day, 9am on exam day

Finish time: Approximately 4pm

Written Exam: Open book, Approx 30 questions, 120 mins

Practical Examination: 8 rice slides

Delegates are required to bring along a scientific calculator, Phase Contrast Microscope (PCM), stage micrometer and NPL test slide.







Thank you for your course/exam booking with AEC. Please see the below update from BOHS.

Please note, we have been informed by BOHS that from 1st November 2025 all AEC BOHS classroom courses will be electronic exams only. BOHS will no longer be sending paper exams. Therefore, we will now require BOHS Candidate Information Forms to be sent to us to process your exam booking . BOHS will not issue paper exams. This form must be completed and returned to training@aec.uk within 48 hours of making the booking, without this form, we cannot order an exam for you.

All classroom courses will now have a remote exam set up by BOHS. You will need to bring a laptop with you to complete the exam. Please bring this with you on the first day of the course.

Please click here for further online Exam FAQ’s, test examination, guidance and contact information.

The reason for the above is because BOHS will now be using an online exam software provider, Eva, to provide the function to generate online exams.

This should help speed up the turnaround time for the marking process.

Many thanks

We appreciate your assistance with this matter



Location - Manchester

Location - Essex

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