HSC approves revised asbestos regulations

C015:06 27 July 2006

The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has today informed Ministers that it will recommend approval of revised asbestos regulations. The draft Control of Asbestos Regulations have been the subject of extensive consultation and will strengthen overall worker protection by reducing exposure limits and introducing detailed mandatory training for work with asbestos. They will also simplify the regulatory regime and implement revisions to the EU Asbestos Worker Protection Directive.

The new Regulations introduce a lower single control limit of 0.1 fibres per cm3 of air for work with all types of asbestos and replace three existing sets of Regulations. They also include practical guidelines for the determination of "sporadic and low intensity exposure", as required by the EU Directive. The Commission also approved two Approved Codes of Practice which provide guidance on compliance with the Regulations.

Under the new Regulations, work with textured decorative coatings containing asbestos (TCs) will be removed from the licensing regime as research shows that the levels of exposure to asbestos fibres from such work are low. The Commission had previously considered new research on TCs and, at its meeting on 4 July 2006, evidence of the relative risks of exposure from different asbestos materials.

At its meeting on 25 July the Commission noted that although there were concerns from some stakeholders about the removal of TCs from the licensing regime, it believes that, overall, the proposed Regulations significantly tighten the controls on working with asbestos materials. The Commission is assured that there will be adequate enforcement of the new regime and has asked the Health and Safety Executive to monitor implementation of the Regulations and to bring any concerns about TCs to its attention.

The Commission will shortly be submitting full details of both the proposed Regulations and the accompanying ACoPs to Ministers for approval. Timing is a matter for Ministers and Parliament but HSC aims to have the Regulations in place as soon as possible before the end of the year.

Note to Editors

1. The Regulations will implement the 2003/18/EC amendment to the Asbestos Worker Protection Directive 83/477/EEC in Great Britain. They will also repeal and replace with a single set of regulations The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002, The Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983, as amended and The Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992 (Prohibitions Regulations), as amended.

2. The Regulations include a single, lower 'Control Limit' of 0.1 fibres per cm3 of air for all types of asbestos, measured over four hours. This tightens the current limits.

3. Under the new Regulations, work with textured decorative coatings containing asbestos (TCs) will be removed from the licensing regime. Research shows the levels of asbestos fibres released during work with TCs are much lower than previously thought and lower than the proposed new control limit when carried out using good practice. However, all work with asbestos containing materials, including TCs, must be undertaken by trained workers following a risk assessment and in accordance with appropriate controls to prevent exposure to asbestos fibres. (see HSE Press Notice E027:06 'New research confirms low risk of exposure from asbestos containing textured coatings' at www.hse.gov.uk/press/2006/e06027.htm )

4. The Regulations also include practical guidelines for the determination of "sporadic and low intensity exposure", as required by the EU Directive. The Regulations stipulate that if a peak exposure level could be exceeded then such work could not be considered to give rise to "sporadic and low intensity exposure". The Commission has set this peak exposure level at 0.6 fibres per cm3 of air measured over a ten minute period. If a risk assessment demonstrates that this could be exceeded during a working day, then the work would have to be carried out under licensed conditions. The EU Directive requires that when work undertaken is deemed to be "sporadic and low intensity exposure" the employer need not notify the enforcing authority, carry out medical surveillance of employees and keep records.

5. The Commission at its meeting on 4 July 2006 (see HSC/06/55 www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/hscarchive/2006/040706/c55.pdf ) noted the findings of further research carried out to compare the risks arising from work with different types of asbestos containing materials and with other non-asbestos related risks. These comparisons showed :
a) unlike other licensed materials where the annual risk of death (mainly dry removal) are calculated to be in hundreds/million (AIB) or thousands/million (spray and other insulation), the risk of death from TCs is calculated to be less than one in a million;
b) the risks from TCs are comparable to those from work with other unlicensed asbestos products such as asbestos cement and flooring;
c) the risks from work with TCs is orders of magnitude lower (at least 700 times) than for activities such as work in construction and agriculture.

6. The consultation closed on 31 January 2006. There were 504 responses, with considerable support for the majority of the proposals to tighten protection for those working with asbestos.

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