MINISTER ENCOURAGES EARLY ACTION TO MANAGE ASBESTOS

HSE Press Release - E026:03 24 February 2003

Today Health and Safety Minister Nick Brown urged owners and occupiers of commercial and public buildings in Britain to act quickly to stop people dying from asbestos-related diseases.

The Minister was speaking in London at a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conference to encourage people to comply with the new duty to manage asbestos regulation, which comes into force on 21st May 2004.

The conference was attended by 250 delegates, representing owners and occupiers of commercial and public buildings, and other influential groups such as trade unions, trade associations and interest groups.

Mr Brown said: "The Government is committed to defending the rights of employees and self-employed people to a safe and healthy working environment. Asbestos remains the most serious occupational health issue in the UK. The new duty to manage asbestos will save nearly 5,000 lives over the next 50 years - lives that would otherwise be needlessly wasted and come to a very painful end. My message to duty holders is to take action now to ensure that they comply with the law."

Bill Macdonald, head of HSE's asbestos policy unit said: "Many organisations are becoming aware, often for the first time, of the need to find out if they have asbestos in their buildings and manage any risk. However, much hard work still needs to be done to convert this knowledge into effective compliance, and this will not be achieved without the active involvement of all those organisations with influence."

Keith Newell of Slough Estates, a major dutyholder under the regulations, also speaking at the conference, added: "Dutyholders must act now. They should plan ahead to take account of future uses of their buildings and take a measured approach to managing their asbestos. It is essential that everyone responsible for the buildings cooperate in managing the risks."

Notes to editors

1. The conference took place at the Queen Elizabeth Centre in London. It included some of the 1,600 organisations that have agreed to join HSE as partners in its campaign to publicise the new duty and promote effective but proportionate compliance to prevent asbestos related diseases.

2. The duty to manage, which takes effect from 21 May 2004, is part of the Control of Asbestos At Work Regulations 2002 (CAWR). It will require those with responsibilities for the repair and maintenance of non-domestic premises to find out if there are, or may be, asbestos-containing materials within them, and to manage them safely.

3. Last year HSE published a variety of guidance to raise awareness of the duty to manage. The new Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises gives advice on how to comply with the legal requirements; the free leaflet A short guide to managing asbestos in premises offers advice to those with smaller, less complex premises; and the guidance booklet A comprehensive guide to managing asbestos is aimed at those duty holders in more complex organisations and expands on the guidance given in the free leaflet.

4. Asbestos has been identified as the largest occupational health killer in the second half of the twentieth century. Asbestos-related diseases account for an estimated 3,000 deaths a year in the UK and it is estimated that 50,000 people have died from mesothelioma and other conditions since 1968. Around one quarter of those currently dying once worked in the building and maintenance trades - where people can inadvertently be exposed to asbestos when working in buildings.

5. The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) was concerned that information on whether buildings have asbestos in them was not always passed to those at risk. HSC therefore proposed a new statutory duty - the duty to manage asbestos - on those responsible for non-domestic premises to determine the presence of asbestos in their buildings, and assess and control the risk from the material. This would be enacted by a new provision, Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAWR). The Commission consulted widely on its proposal and CAWR 2002 were made on 24 October 2002, with an eighteen-month lead in period for the duty to manage.

6. The duty will provide a new level of protection for those working in the building-related trades and others at risk from asbestos in buildings and will contribute to the saving of almost 5000 lives that can be achieved through eliminating risks from asbestos in the non-domestic sector.

7. In autumn 2001 HSE embarked on a five-year national campaign to raise awareness of the risks from asbestos in buildings and the new legislation, and to promote effective compliance without excessive costs. HSE have recruited over 1600 organisations to be intermediaries or "partners" in the campaign. A presenter's pack has been prepared by HSE, which is being used by partners to give workshops to dutyholders on the new duty to manage.

8. Sandra Caldwell, HSE's director of health policy chaired the conference titled The Duty to Manage - Working Towards Compliance. Christopher Morley, Director (Planning and Construction), of the British property Federation also spoke at the conference.

Copies of The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 L127, ISBN 0 7176 2382 3, price £9.50;

A short guide to managing asbestos in premises, INDG223(rev3), free of charge; A comprehensive guide to managing asbestos in premises HSG227, ISBN 0 7176 2381 5, price £12.50;
Work with asbestos insulation, asbestos coating and asbestos insulating board (fourth edition) L28, ISBN 0 7176 2563 X, price £9.50;

Work with asbestos which does not normally require a licence (fourth edition) L27, ISBN 0 7176 2562 1, price £9.50; are available from HSE Books

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