There
is already a responsibility under existing legislation which
requires employers to identify and manage asbestos in the
workplace.
In the
early part of 2003, the Control of Asbestos at Work Act was
further amended to specifically require employers and building
owners to:
 |
Identify
the presence of asbestos in buildings |
 |
Identify
all elements of its condition that impact on its potential
to cause harm |
 |
Assess
the risk that is presented |
 |
Take
action to safely manage the risk |
In 2006,
the revised regulations were renamed the Control of Asbestos
Regulations and the requirements became even tighter.
LEGISLATION
The Health
and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires employers to provide
a safe workplace.
Work with
Asbestos is covered by its own set of regulations. From November
2002 the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAWR) 2002
came into force.
In 2006,
the Control of Asbestos Regulations superceded the CAWR regulations.
There
are duties to prepare a risk assessment and to make written
arrangements to protect those at risk in the Management of
Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992.
Arrangements
to deal with asbestos during refurbishment may also be required
by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994.
The CAWR
have been amended by introducing a specific duty to manage
the risk from asbestos containing materials in premises.
This specific
duty will be supported by an Approved Code of Practice (ACOP)
and associated guidance.
It is
the responsibility of the Duty Holder of commercial premises
to manage any asbestos present and hold relative information
in an Asbestos Register.
Therefore,
it is recommended that a survey for Asbestos Containing Materials
is undertaken to identify any present and a management strategy
put in place thereafter.
The Health
and Safety Commission estimate 1.5 million properties require
an asbestos survey in order to comply with the new regulations.
All buildings
(excluding private residential and private rented residential
properties) require a register of asbestos containing
materials detailing the location, extent and condition of
the materials within the building.
The person
responsible for a building (The Duty Holder) is required to
manage the risk from asbestos by:
 |
Identifying
asbestos containing materials
within the premises and assessing their condition. |
 |
Presuming
materials contain asbestos unless there
is strong evidence that they do not. |
 |
Maintaining
an up to date record of the location and condition of
the asbestos containing materials and presumed asbestos
containing materials within the premises. |
 |
Assessing
the risk from the material. |
 |
Preparing
and implementing a plan detailing how the risk from asbestos
containing materials is to be managed. |
 |
Reviewing
and monitoring the management plan. |
 |
Providing
information on the location and condition of asbestos
containing materials to anyone liable to work on or disturb
them. |
Any building
likely to containing asbestos must be surveyed unde the new
regulations.
Buildings
constructed before 1999 may contain limited asbestos products
and buildings built before 1985 may contain substantial quantities
of asbestos.
The survey
must be recorded as a written register of asbestos containing
materials.
The risk
that these materials pose to users of the building must be
assessed and any recommendations made by the surveyor from
these risk assessments, must be completed.
If you
own, occupy, manage or have responsibility for a building
which may contain asbestos you have either a legal duty to
manage the risk from asbestos containing materials; or a duty
to co-operate with whoever manages that risk.
The HSE
has produced a number of free information packs to promote
awareness of the new regulations.
Asbestos
- Magic Material or Killer Dust?
Asbestos
has been used extensively in the building industry for over
one hundred years and has proved to be an excellent product
for a variety of uses, having many qualities such as insulation,
fire and chemical resistance to name a few.
Also,
its suitability to many uses and relatively cheap cost made
it very popular, with millions of tons being used in countless
forms.
It was
during the post war period of the 1950's to the 1970's when
its usage was the most prevalent and it must be said that
it provided a very economic, easy to use material that was
welcome to the construction industry at that time.
Unfortunately,
its constitution and make up with other materials give rise
to airborne fibres that would be released if damaged. These
fibres can get lodged in the lungs of people and cause numerous
diseases and death.
Thus over
the years asbestos use has receded and its use in buildings
eventually banned in 1999 although it is used in some gasket
production.
Despite
its ban, millions of tons of it are still present in properties
all over the country, in many different shapes and forms.
Many asbestos
containing materials are easily damaged and can release the
deadly airborne fibres into the atmosphere.
New regulations
have been issued making it a legal requirement to manage all
asbestos containing materials in commercial premises to protect
those that work or visit there as it only takes one fibre
to kill.
It is
therefore necessary to identify any asbestos containing materials
on the premises assess their condition and manage them accordingly.
Typical
asbestos containing materials found in buildings:
|
|
Pipe
insulation |
|
|
Tank
and roof insulation |
|
|
sprayed
acoustic coatings and fire insulation |
|
|
thermal
insulation |
|
|
firestop
boards |
|
|
wall
lining panels |
|
|
insulation
board |
|
|
insulation
paper/cardboard under pipe lagging and floor tiles |
|
|
jointing
and packing yarns and materials to boilers, ovens, electric
cables and fuseboards, flues, brickwork |
|
|
fire
resistant blankets, gloves, mattresses, curtains etc |
|
|
gaskets
and washers to plant and machinery |
|
|
strings
for sealing radiators |
|
|
string
around glazing |
|
|
resin
wc cisterns |
|
|
roof
sheets and cladding |
|
|
flues |
|
|
partitioning |
|
|
decorative
panels, soffit and fascia boards |
|
|
roof
slates, decking |
|
|
preformed
products such as cable conduits, rainwater goods, fencing,
roof promenade tiles, window sills, bath panels, draining
boards, worktops, ducts |
|
|
textured
coatings such as Artex |
|
|
roofing felts |
|
|
floor
tiles |
|
|
suspended
ceiling tiles |
The above
list is not exhaustive but give typical uses for asbestos
in buildings over the years and thus a trained and experienced
eye is required to identify it. Of course it could be in portable
appliances such as old toasters and these need to be checked
also.