ASBESTOS

Asbestos Legal requirements

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (CAR) applies to all work activities involving asbestos-containing materials.  It places duties on an employer, including self-employed, who carry out, ‘any work which exposes or is liable to expose any of his employee to asbestos…’ to protect all employees and anyone else who may be affected by the work.  There is also a specific duty under CAR to manage asbestos in buildings to ensure that asbestos is kept in good condition and to prevent uncontrolled work or releases.

What will Duty to Manage mean to you?

The requirements of the Regulation 4 of the The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 seek to prevent further unknowing exposure to asbestos of building and maintenance workers with the aim of saving 5000 lives over the next 50 years.

The HSE has recognised the risk of exposure to asbestos and since 21st May 2004 has made it a legal duty to assess and manage the risk of asbestos in buildings.  It is essential to know the location and condition of asbestos within buildings, to maintain written records, to document actions and to have a management system and procedures in place to avoid exposure to asbestos fibres.

The new regulation covers all non-domestic premises, whatever type of business is carried out in them.  It also covers the common areas of domestic premises, including halls, stairwells, lift shafts, roof spaces and external areas.

Who will be the dutyholder?

All those who have responsibility for the maintenance and or/repair of non-domestic premises have duties under this regulation.  The extent of the legal duty is determined by the terms of any tenancy agreement or contract that applies, and in the absence of any such agreement, on the degree of control the party has over premises.

The dutyholder may well be the landlord, tenant or a managing agent, depending on the circumstances of the case.  In some situations, responsibility could be shared between two or more parties.

The regulation also includes a duty to co-operate, which applies widely.  This will, for example, require a tenant to allow a landlord to gain access to a building to carry out a survey.  Also a building surveyor or architect who had plans which show information on the whereabouts of asbestos would be expected to make theses available to the dutyholder at a reasonable cost.

What should the dutyholder be doing immediately?

Check that the current arrangements for the management of asbestos within their premises are effective and are being applied properly;

Adopt a precautionary approach to maintenance work.  Until a proper assessment of their premises has been carried out, they must assume that all materials being worked on are asbestos, adopting the standards set out in ‘Asbestos essentials’; and

carry out an initial inspection of the premises to look for serious damage and disturbance and take effective remedial action as necessary.

What should dutyholders do next?

Plan their compliance strategy.  This should include:;

Deciding what type of inspection/survey is appropriate

Identifying who should carry out the work, and who should manage the whole process

Determining priorities in terms of which buildings or parts of buildings must be tackled first

Deciding how information is to be recorded/retrieved and in what form

Considering how maintenance activities will be controlled to warn those at risk and control exposure to asbestos

Deciding who should review the arrangements and how often

 

If this information has highlighted areas that you aren’t sure of,

contact us for a free guide to MDHS 100 and to arrange a consultation.

 

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