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Asbestos

Aim

Our aim is to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos in high-risk groups of workers such as those in construction, building repair and maintenance trades. Additionally we aim to enforce regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (known as ‘duty to manage’ or DtM) which is aimed at specifically protecting these people.

Justification

Asbestos is the UK’s largest cause of work-related deaths, with over 4,000 people a year dying from asbestos related disease due to past exposure. The number of deaths continues to rise and may not peak until 2015. In 1995, research indicated that 25% of deaths from asbestos related disease occur in the construction, building repair and maintenance trades. The use of asbestos is now banned, but it is still present in up to half a million non-domestic premises. This means it can be disturbed unknowingly by actions which may damage asbestos containing materials, this ranges from people who actually work on them (such as the group defined above) to people who work close to them and may damage them by accident.

Audience/Industry

The ‘duty holder’ is defined under Reg 4 as the person who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of non-domestic premises through tenancy or agreement. These people can include landlords, tenants and building managers.

Messages

  1. Asbestos could be present in any building built or refurbished before 2000
  2. As a duty holder you have legal responsibilities to manage any asbestos in your building; you must
    1. Make and keep a record of its location and condition which should be reviewed regularly
    2. Tell people who may work on the building that asbestos may be present, especially maintenance workers

Activities required

  1. To raise DtM issues as part of your normal inspection where the duty holder or designated person is identifiable on site. This topic is suitable for the majority of visits and visiting staff are asked to raise DtM at all suitable visits.
  2. Visiting officers are not required to identify whether asbestos is present themselves but to assess and possibly enforce the duty holders’ compliance with DtM. Visiting officers should check that the location and condition of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) has been established and that an asbestos management plan is in place and actively followed. As part of Reg 4 they should also ensure that information from this plan is passed on to maintenance workers who may work on or near ACMs on site.
  3. Visiting Officers are requested to follow-up all cases of inadequate compliance and consider whether enforcement action in the form of notices or prosecution is appropriate.
  4. If the duty holder is not on site, information should be left on site for them (ie INDG 223 - A short guide to managing asbestos in premises [180KB] and a copy of the jointly badged leaflet containing the checklist ‘Manage buildings? You must manage asbestos’ [180KB]

Timing

All year.

For information

Further information on asbestos and the Duty to Manage can also be found on the HSE website at:

Contact

drp@hse.gsi.gov.uk