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October 2010 - Asbestos - The hidden killer

Asbestos is the largest cause of work-related deaths in the UK, accounting for around 4,000 deaths a year. More people die as a result of exposure to asbestos than in road accidents.

A quarter of those dying are tradesmen or maintenance workers who unknowingly disturbed and breathed in asbestos fibres while doing their job. On average 20 tradesmen, including 8 joiners, 6 electricians and 4 plumbers, die from asbestos-related disease every week.

With headline statistics and facts like these, it is easy to understand the importance of the HSE’s Hidden Killer campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos.

Over the years, the prohibitions on the use and supply of asbestos have gradually been tightened, but with the wide range of uses asbestos was put to it is highly likely that asbestos containing materials will be present in buildings built before 2000. Half a million commercial buildings still contain asbestos.

In spite of the various campaigns, the steady stream of prosecutions suggests that not everyone is aware of their duties and the correct procedures for working with and managing asbestos.

Some recent prosecutions include:

Eastern Regional Shopfitters Ltd, fined £4,000 plus £3,215 costs for failing to carry out a suitable assessment, carrying out asbestos removal without a license and exposing workers to asbestos, after 5 people were exposed during work at Manchester’s Arndale centre.

Norwegian Homes Ltd, fined £4,500 plus costs of £11,959 for failing to undertake a survey for the presence of asbestos at a demolition site in Perranporth.

Darchem Engineering Ltd, fined £3,000 plus £5,266.62 costs after workers drilled into asbestos insulation board without taking appropriate precautions while relocating a junction box.

Interserve (Defence) Ltd, facilities managers for Defence Estates, fined £33,000 plus costs of £17,936 for failing to follow the findings of an asbestos survey and restrict access to a boiler room at an M.O.D. base in Bicester. The M.O.D. also received a formal Crown Censure for this incident. The survey had recommended that, due to the poor condition of asbestos materials, access should be restricted until the asbestos could be removed.

The Control of Asbestos Regulations place a number of duties on people regarding asbestos.

Asbestos Warning Sign

Managing Asbestos in Buildings

The HSE produce a helpful guidance document for those who manage buildings, this can be accessed on the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/manageasbestos.pdf

In summary, as well as protecting people from exposure to asbestos fibres, if you are responsible for managing the maintenance and repair of a building, you have a legal duty to manage any asbestos in it. This affects all non-domestic buildings and the common areas of residential rented buildings, e.g. halls, stairwells, lift shafts, roof spaces.

The HSE guidance sets out an eight step plan for managing asbestos.

Step 1: Are you responsible for maintenance and repair activities for nondomestic buildings?

Step 2: Was the building built before 2000?

Step 3: Do you already have information on asbestos in your building?

Step 4: Walk round your building to identify the presence of asbestos.

Step 5: Keep a written record or register.

Step 6: Act on your findings.

Step 7: Tell people where the asbestos is.

Step 8: Keep your records up to date.

Steps 3 and 4 involve identifying the location and condition of any asbestos containing materials. You can either presume that asbestos is present or confirm its presence/absence using a more detailed survey and sampling.

There are two types of survey that can be carried out, Management Surveys (previously known as type 1 and type 2 surveys) and Refurbishment / Demolition Surveys (previously known as type 3).

The clue is in the name, Management Surveys are for during the normal occupation and use of the building to ensure continued management of asbestos containing materials in situ. Refurbishment / Demolition Surveys are a more invasive type of survey used when the building (or part of it) is to be upgraded, refurbished or demolished.

It is important that both you and the surveyor know exactly what type of survey is to be carried out and where, for example a boiler house due for demolition will require a Refurbishment/Demolition Survey, while offices in use at the same site would have a Management Survey.

Remember: the duty is about protecting your employees and other people from exposure to asbestos fibres by properly managing any asbestos present in a building. It is not about removing all asbestos! If the asbestos is in good condition and is not likely to be disturbed, it is usually safer to leave it in place and manage it.

If you need to have work done, it is important to remember that all work with asbestos must be done by trained people using proper precautions. Work on high risk materials, e.g. pipe insulation, asbestos insulating panels or sprayed asbestos will need to be done by a licensed contractor.

Please feel free to get in touch with your usual Crown House contacts if you would like further information about the management of asbestos. Our next newsletter will include an article regarding work with asbestos, both licensed and non-licensed work.

For more information or if you have any questions surrounding the information in this article please contact Crown House on 01777 861 861 or e-mail Jacky Millard