The duty to manage asbestos

Employers, owners of commercial premises and managing agents have a legal “duty to manage” asbestos in the premises they own or control (Regulation 4). Employers must go through five stages to comply with the law. They must:

• inspect the workplace (or appoint someone else competent to do this) and find out whether asbestos is present;

• assess the risks from any asbestos;

• manage the risk;

• prepare a plan and act on it; and

• monitor arrangements.

Employers must not carry out demolition, maintenance or any other work which exposes, or may expose, their employees to asbestos unless they have found out the type and condition of asbestos present.

Employers must carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment and record their findings before any work is carried out (Regulation 6). They should not arrange to work with asbestos unless a written plan of work detailing how that work is to be carried out has first been prepared (Regulation 7).

Employers must give adequate training, information and instruction to all employees who are, or may be, exposed to asbestos (Regulation 10). HSE guidance says that “training for safety representatives and elected representatives of employee safety will need to be appropriate to their role.” It specifies that safety reps are entitled to receive:

• a copy of the current assessment for the work;

• a copy of the plan of work;

• details of any air monitoring strategy and results;

• maintenance records for control measures;

• personal information from health records;

• a copy of the individual’s training record; and

• the results of any face-fit test for asbestos respiratory protective equipment (RPE).

It adds that at each stage, safety reps are entitled to be consulted.

Anyone who certifies premises as safe for re-occupation following licensed asbestos work must be accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) (Regulation 20(4)).

Following the HSE’s review of its ACOPs as recommended by the Löftstedt Review of health and safety regulations (see Chapter 12) The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises (L127) and Work with materials containing asbestos (L143) will be consolidated into a single revised ACOP. The revised L143 will be published at the end of 2013, making clearer what employers can do to comply with the law and to reflect the introduction of the 2012 Regulations. The material supporting Regulations 2, 3, 9 and 22 will be revised to reflect recent changes to the law on notification of certain non-licensed work with asbestos and the arrangements for medical examinations for employees and record keeping.

The material supporting Regulation 10 will be simplified to help employers understand more clearly what they need to do in relation to providing information, instruction and training to employees.

L127 on the “duty to manage” will be withdrawn and the material it contains will be simplified and incorporated within L143. The HSE will include guidance published in A short guide to managing asbestos (INDG 223) and on-line information and tools available on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/campaign/duty.htm so that all ACOP material relating to work with asbestos will be brought together into one document.