|
Managing
Asbestos – What you must do!
- Why another regulation?
Up to 500,000 commercial, industrial and public buildings in the UK are likely to contain asbestos materials. Unless this material is properly managed, building and maintenance workers may breathe in harmful asbestos fibres when carrying out everyday jobs.
- What buildings are affected?
All non-domestic buildings, what ever type of business is carried out in them.
It also covers the common areas of residential rented properties, including halls, stair wells, lift shafts and roof spaces.
- Who is responsible?
The duty holder is anyone responsible for maintaining and repairing all or part of a property, or who has control of the building. For example the occupier or the owner.
- Will the regulation affect me?
If you control or have information about the building, you must co-operate with the duty holder. For instance, landlords must pass on relevant information to new tenants, and leaseholders must allow access for inspection by managing agents.
- When will this come into effect?
The regulation became law on 21 May 2004. If you haven’t already started work on managing the risk from asbestos then you are breaking the law and must act now.
Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 creates a new legal duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises.
- What do I need to do?
Everyone must start to take action now – even if all you have to do is co-operate with the duty holder.
If you are a duty holder you must:
- Find out whether your building contains asbestos, and what condition it is
in.
- Assess the risk, e.g. if it is likely to release
fibres.
- Make a plan to manage that risk.
- Where do I start?
- Do a desktop study to find out what you already know about your buildings, eg look
at plans and other documents.
- Contact anyone else who may already have useful information about the building eg
a surveyor, architect or contractor who knows the building.
- Carry out an inspection of the building. You can do this in house, especially if you
simply assume that materials contain asbestos. If samples of materials need to be
analysed then use an independent expert.
- Record the results of the inspection, identifying the parts of the building where
asbestos may be located.
- Assess the risk of asbestos fibres being released into the air from the materials in
those areas. Take into account the condition of the material and how likely it is to be
damaged or disturbed.
- Draw up a management plan. State which areas, if any, need asbestos to be sealed,
encapsulated or, as a last resort removed. The key part of the plan is to warn
people coming to work on the building, to prevent accidental exposure.
- Build in regular checks to make sure the condition of the material has not
deteriorated. Concentrate on areas of high risk, where materials are more likely to
get damaged.
- Keep the management plan up-to-date to show any changes that could affect the
risk.
Remember!!, the new legal duty is about managing any asbestos in a building, not about removing all asbestos!
Asbestos in good condition and not likely to be disturbed should not be removed. Removal may be unnecessary and costly!
- What shouldn’t I do?
- Don’t panic – asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed. If it is safely managed and
contained it doesn’t present a health hazard.
- Don’t remove asbestos unnecessarily. Removing it can be more dangerous than
simply containing it.
- Don’t treat all asbestos materials the same. You only need to use a licensed
contractor to work on high-risk materials, such as pipe insulation or asbestos
insulating panels – not on asbestos cement, which is much less dangerous.
- Don’t assume you need to bring in a specialist in every case. The regulation allows
you to inspect your own building and assume materials contain asbestos.
- Don’t forget that the regulation is all about protecting maintenance workers and
others from asbestos fibres, so concentrate on practical steps to achieve this.
- Where can I get more information?
You can get the following guides from HSE Books.
The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises. Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. Approved Code of Practice and guidance L127 HSE Books 2002 ISBN 0 7176 2382 3
A short guide to managing asbestos in premises Leaflet INDG223(rev3) HSE Books 2002 (single copy free or priced packs of 10 ISBN 0 7176 2564 8)
A comprehensive guide to managing asbestos in premises HSG227 HSE Books 2002 ISBN 0 7176 2381 5
HSE priced and free publications are available by mail order from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury Suffolk CO10 2WA
Tel: 01787 881165 Fax: 01787 313995
Website:www.hsebooks.co.uk, which includes HSE’s asbestos, campaign web page.
Source: Health and Safety Executive
|
