HSC press release C041-03 - 15 August 2003
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has announced an amendment to the Asbestos (Prohibition) Regulations 1992, which affects the importation of products containing asbestos and which comes into force today.
The amendment modifies the existing ban on importing asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), so that only those where the asbestos has been intentionally added are prohibited from being imported. Minerals for which specific concerns have been expressed over asbestos impurities include olivine, vermiculite, talc, dolomite, hermatite, iron ore, basalt, marble, chrome ore, magnetite and wollastonite.
This brings the importation ban into line with the existing prohibition on supply and use of ACMs, and will ensure that the UK meets obligations under European single market regulations.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral which can be found in a wide variety of bedrock, usually only in tiny quantities. Before this amendment the importation ban applied to anything containing asbestos, including those minerals and aggregates that include a small amount as a naturally occurring impurity. This meant that the importation of many minerals from areas where tiny amounts of asbestos are found in the bedrock was technically illegal, irrespective of the level, or the risk, involved.
Another unintended affect of the existing legislation was that the UK was in breach of the European Union's single market rules. This was because the ban on the supply and use of such products in the UK only applied where asbestos had been intentionally added, whereas the same products imported into the UK were banned even when the asbestos was only present as an impurity.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is using this opportunity
to highlight the duties on companies that supply or use products
containing minerals that could be affected. The advice will
emphasise that even quite small amounts of asbestos in a material
may give rise to a real risk from asbestos fibres, if it is
subjected to a high-energy process like sand or grit blasting,
which could cause fibres to be released.
For companies supplying or using any of these minerals, HSE is
issuing the following advice:-
Many producers and importers of mineral products already carry out
comprehensive testing to prevent materials containing significant
quantities of asbestos getting into the supply chain. HSE is now
asking all mineral suppliers to re-evaluate their regular sampling
regimes to ensure that any asbestos is detected and quantified.
Where asbestos is found the material should not be sold unless the
amount is trivially small. Even in those cases suppliers must
inform their customers that trace quantities of asbestos may
occasionally be found in their products. This will allow the
"high-energy" users to take appropriate precautions or
consider alternative materials.
Any users of these materials are also advised to contact their
suppliers to confirm that testing is being done to determine
whether the material contains any asbestos and what the test
results are. If asbestos is present they should look again to see
if their control measures to protect the health of their employees
are adequate. In the case of high-energy users, e.g. abrasive
blasting, HSE advises that this review should include air
monitoring to measure the concentration of any fibres which may
have been liberated by their processes. In some cases users may
wish to consider switching to alternative materials or
processes.
Bill Macdonald, Head of HSE's Asbestos Policy Unit, said: "There is no evidence that minerals that contain small amounts of asbestos in them give rise to a serious risk to anyone using them. However, it is essential that importers, suppliers and users do all that they can to reduce the risks still further."
The Asbestos (Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 are available from http://www.tsoshop.co.uk/
1. The Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992 banned the
importation, supply and use of blue and brown (amphibole) asbestos
in the UK and also the supply and use of any product to which
amphibole asbestos had been intentionally added. A number of
products and uses of white (chrysotile) asbestos were also
prohibited.
2. The Regulations were amended in 1999 to ban the importation,
supply and use of chrysotile asbestos to implement Directive
1999/77/EC and to extend the prohibitions on importation to include
any product containing asbestos.
3. Because the effect was to ban the importation of some materials (where the asbestos was not intentionally added) that could legally be supplied and used in the UK, this contravened European single market rules. It was therefore decided to amend the Regulations to bring the importation ban into line with the existing prohibition on supply and use. The amendment comes into force on 15 August.
4. Existing health and safety legislation is in place that protects workers and applies to the importation, supply and use of asbestos:
These apply in addition to the amended Asbestos (Prohibition) Regulations.
5. Most larger suppliers of imported bulk minerals already have a rigorous testing and labelling regime in place and use 'asbestos-free' sources as a rule since in the current climate, there is no market for minerals with higher levels of asbestos contamination.
All enquiries from journalists should be directed to the HSE Press Office
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