Asbestos awareness training is a legal requirement for any individual who may come into contact with asbestos containing materials (ACMs) through their line of work. These individuals include building services managers, engineers, all tradesmen and many more. Regulation 10 of HSE legislation CAR2006 states there is a legal duty for employers to ensure all their staff have had sufficient training to ensure that they do not become exposed to asbestos fibres.
Awareness training can be found at www.artisansurveyors.co.uk/services.php?serviceID=23&catID=19&title=RSPH_Level_1_Asbestos_Awareness_Course
Further training providers can also be found at www.iatp.org.uk/find_a_training_provider.php
Retailers are being sent a quick reference factsheet to help them understand their legal responsibilities on asbestos to ensure their workers, customers or any contractors are protected from exposure.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has teamed up with the BHF-BSSA Group – an independent retail trade body representing more than 7500 small retailers, after it was found that compliance with ‘duty to manage’ regulations was particularly low in this sector.
Any person or organisation responsible for the maintenance or repair of non domestic premises will almost certainly be responsible for managing any asbestos present, under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
The Fact Sheet outlines:
- Who has the duty to manage;
- What the duty to manage means;
- Three essential steps to comply with the duty; and
- Advice on asbestos surveys.
Steve Coldrick, HSE’s Asbestos Programme Director, said:
“Around 4000 people die each year from past exposure to asbestos. It may be present in any building built before the year 2000, and so it is essential that retailers are aware of the risk it still poses and their responsibilities in managing it.
“Working with the BHF-BSSA to put in simple terms what businesses should be doing will help remove any mystery or uncertainty around the regulations.”
Michael Weedon, BHF-BSSA Group Communications Manager, said:
“Contractors never know what they are walking into when they start work on a job but retailers walk into the same premises day after day after day, so they really need to know what is lurking in their environment.
“Our factsheet sets out to make the subject clear and easy to understand, both for those who own their own premises and those who rent them from others.”
The Fact Sheet is available to BHF-BSSA members at www.bssa.co.uk 
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Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) can be found in many places within a house or commercial property. Click on the following link to view some of these locations:
The press release below highlights the importance of dutyholders ensuring that they have an up to date asbestos register in place for their building and that all parts of the CAR 2006 legislation is complied with at all times.
- Date:
- 27 January 2010
- Release No:
- WW681
A Bristol-based company has been fined for putting its workers at risk of asbestos-related diseases while working on a property in the city.
Frank Bruce and Company Ltd, of St George, Bristol pleaded guilty at Bristol Magistrates in relation to refurbishment work at Lawrence Hill Industrial Park in the city during February and March 2009.
The court heard Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors visited industrial units where the defendant had organised refurbishment work involving the removal of a large quantity of asbestos insulation board without taking statutory safety precautions.
This led to exposure of the workers to the asbestos and also the contamination of the units being renovated.
The court heard the company plead guilty to breaches under Regulation 14 of the Construction (Design and Management) [CDM] Regulations 2007 by failing to appoint a CDM-coordinator or principal contractor for notifiable construction work and Regulation 4 (10) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations by failing to review or implement a plan to manage materials containing asbestos.
Frank Bruce and Co was today (WED) fined £18,000 for breaching the regulations and ordered to pay £6,679 costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Sue Adsett said: “The decision not to have large quantities of asbestos insulation board removed by licensed contractors before the general refurbishment work began, put the workers at risk and contaminated the site.
“The work was stopped and the defendant paid to make the site safe, but this doesn’t change the fact that seven construction workers were exposed to asbestos, which we know can cause fatal diseases.
“Landlords and property developers need to be very wary of organising construction work themselves if they haven’t got appropriate experience of managing health and safety in building projects.”
Around 500,000 buildings built before 2000 could contain asbestos, according to HSE estimates. If managed properly and kept in good condition, asbestos need not pose safety concerns.
Landlords need to arrange for ‘Type 3′ surveys to be done before refurbishment or demolition and pass this information on to builders before asking them to start work. Some asbestos products – such as Asbestos Insulation Boards or Asbestos Insulation – can only be removed by specially licensed contractors.
The press release below from IBAS (International Ban Asbestos Secretariat) released this month calls for asbestos to be banned worldwide. Please feel free to leave comments on your views on worldwide use of the material.
Repeat Call to Ban Asbestos by Laurie Kazan-Allen ’In March 2010, the Collegium Ramazzini, an international academic society specializing in occupational and environmental medicine, issued its second call for asbestos to be banned worldwide. The Collegium’s Asbestos is Still with Us: Repeat Call for a Universal Ban, states:
“All forms of asbestos are proven human carcinogens. All forms of asbestos cause malignant mesothelioma, lung, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers, and may cause gastrointestinal and other cancers. No exposure to asbestos is without risk, and there is no safe threshold of exposure to asbestos. Asbestos cancer victims die painful lingering deaths. These deaths are almost entirely preventable… Early suggestions that chrysotile might be less dangerous than other forms of asbestos have not been substantiated…” 1
This document is a follow-up to one issued a decade ago by the Collegium: Call for an International Ban on Asbestos which stated:“To eliminate the burden of disease and death that is caused worldwide by exposure to asbestos, the Collegium Ramazzini calls for an immediate ban on all mining and use of asbestos. To be effective, the ban must be international in scope and must be enforced in every country in the world.”2The 2010 document provides news of recent developments including scientific research and global action; it highlights the adoption of asbestos policies by the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization which support a phasing out of asbestos use. The authors urge: “All countries of the world … to join the international endeavor to ban all forms of asbestos.”3 ‘March 8, 2010; Revised March 20, 2010_______1 Asbestos is Still with Us: Repeat Call for a Universal Ban. Collegium Ramazzin. (2010).
(Received by email March 18, 2010.)2 Sixth Collegium Ramazzini Statement (1999). Call for an International Ban on Asbestos
http://www.collegiumramazzini.org/download/6_SixthCRStatement%281999%29.pdf3 See also: Eleventh Collegium Ramazzini Statement: Call for an International Ban on Asbestos: Statement Update. http://www.collegiumramazzini.org/download/11_EleventhCRStatement(2004).pdf
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 came into force on 13th November 2006. This legislation updated the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAWR) 2002. The emphasis of the regulations is on the duty of a building owner or manager to manage asbestos within the property and take measures to prevent employees, clients and contractors from coming into contact with asbestos containing materials.
Asbestos is a mined silicate mineral that was used in a wide variety of building materials for about 150 years, but particularly from the 1950’s through to the 1980’s. Cement products were used up until 1999.
There are three main types of asbestos that have been used:
- Amosite (commonly called brown asbestos)
- Chrysotile (commonly called white asbestos)
- Crocidolite (commonly called blue asbestos)
Amosite and Crocidolite are typically considered to be more dangerous than Chrysotile, but all three types should be considered to be dangerous and treated with care. Asbestos is dangerous because inhaled microscopic fibres become lodged in the tissues of the lungs. Due to the typical size and structure of the asbestos fibres the body cannot easily remove them. They remain in the lung tissue causing scarring. This can lead to lung diseases (particularly cancers), especially if you are repeatedly exposed to fibres over a number of years. Studies suggest that asbestos fibres can also cause cancer in the stomach and digestive tract if repeatedly ingested.
Click here to see typical locations of asbestos materials within a building.
The following are examples of some typical uses of asbestos containing materials:
Sprayed coatings used as thermal and anti-condensation insulation on the undersides of roofs and to steelwork and as acoustic insulation in theatres, halls etc. Usually contain 55 – 85% asbestos. Both Crocidolite and Amosite were used. Sprayed coatings are generally very friable and can easily release fibres into the air when disturbed or as the bonding matrix degrades over time.
Thermal insulation used on pipes, boilers, calorifiers etc. Asbestos content varies from 6 – 85% and all types of asbestos have been used. Often will be well encapsulated but any damaged or unencapsulated areas will have a high potential to release fibres.
Asbestos insulation boards (AIB) and millboard used for general heat insulation, acoustic insulation and fire protection and as a general building board. Found in service ducts, risers, firebreaks, infill panels, partitions, ceilings and ceiling tiles, roof underlay, wall linings, external canopies and soffits etc. These contain 15 – 40% asbestos and all types of asbestos have been used. AIB and millboard can be readily broken and abraded, releasing significant quantities of asbestos fibres.
Asbestos cement products used as roofing, wall cladding, shuttering, soffits, bath panels, ceiling panels, fire protection, water tanks, flue pipes etc. Typically contains 10-25% asbestos. Chrysotile is the most common type of asbestos found in cement although Amosite and Crocidolite have also been used. Likely to release fibres if abraded, sawn or drilled. Generally releases low levels of fibres.
Ropes, cloths, gaskets and asbestos paper are usually high in asbestos content, normally up to 100%. All types of asbestos have been used. Likely to release fibres if abraded, torn or cut.
Textured coatings, e.g. Artex may contain small amounts of asbestos, typically 3-5% Chrysotile. Generally very low fibre release although the material should not be drilled or broken.
Bitumen products used as roofing felts, gutter linings and flashings, damp proof courses, bitumen adhesives etc. Usually contain approximately 8% asbestos. Fibre release is unlikely during normal use.
Reinforced plastics used as floor tiles, vinyl lays, wall panels, toilet cisterns, window seals, laboratory worktops etc. These contain 7-25% asbestos, which is usually Chrysotile. May have an asbestos paper backing, typically approximately 100% Chrysotile. Fibre release is unlikely during normal use.
“Have you ever thought LAs and HSE should be doing more to support dutyholders in selecting and using Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) correctly? Well, we are launching a project to do just that.
The RPE Project will aid delivery of the Health and Safety Executives (HSE’s) strategy ’to specifically target key health issues…’, and reduce respiratory disease, by securing good practice in the selection, use and maintenance of RPE. LA representatives are working with colleagues from across HSE, and employer, employee and supply-side representatives, to devise and develop research-led, fit-for-purpose information and tools that will be relevant to employers across a wide variety of industries, sectors, occupations and processes, where there is a risk of respiratory disease.
The latest HSE estimates suggest that 12,000 people die every year from occupationally induced cancers and respiratory diseases, caused by past exposures to dusts, fumes, gases etc. However, today’s workers are still at risk; recent surveys of employers and employees consistently suggest that a high proportion (a quarter of workers and 1 in 5 of employers) regard themselves as regularly breathing in substances that could lead to a risk of respiratory disease.
Many of these employers and employees will rely on RPE as a control measure, but evidence suggests that compliance with good practice is low. For example, the results of a soon to be published behavioural study show that less than half of the sampled businesses had a fit-for-purpose RPE programme. All of the evidence combined supports the need for an RPE Project to help reduce the potential for cases of ill health in the future.
The exact nature of the information and tools that the project will deliver is dependant on the steer of the stakeholders involved, but early ideas include a website to host all guidance and support on the topic of RPE, a DVD demonstrating good practice on RPE to employers, and revised guidance documentation.
The project will also provide support and guidance for LA and HSE operational staff dealing with RPE issues on inspection visits. We plan to deliver a formal training programme for operational staff from October 2011, following a pilot, with targeted inspection activity to commence from 2012/13.
We’ll keep you all up-to-date on project progress over the coming months, but in the meantime, if you would like to find out more, or if you feel the project is particularly relevant to your work area and want to get involved, please contact Rachael Beattie on 0151 951 5870 or rachael.beattie@hse.gsi.gov.uk“
“Asbestos: The Survey Guide HSG264 was published on 29 January. The new guide updates and replaces the guidance contained in MDHS100. It also has a wider target audience and introduces some new terminology. It clarifies the role of the survey in the management of asbestos and contains specific new guidance for the Client. It strongly recommends the use of accredited or certificated surveyors.
The guide also targets the dutyholder. This is the person who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of the fabric of the building. It sets out how to decide what type of survey is appropriate, how to select a competent surveyor; what the client (duty holder) should expect from a surveyor and what the client should provide to the surveyor. It highlights issues (e.g. restricted access, excluded areas and other caveats) which not only reduce the effectiveness of the survey, but also have serious implications for managing asbestos.”
For further information, please view the following link; http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg264.htm
The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) main drive for asbestos in 2010/11 is to put more focus on ‘duty to manage’ (DtM) to raise awareness of those in control of buildings and gain better compliance.
Instead of a national media campaign, HSE is supporting work to raise awareness in trades people by:
- providing campaign leaflets (a revised campaign pack will be mailed out next month);
- working with PPE supply chain stakeholders; and
- developing learning materials for FE colleagues.
Source: http://news.hse.gov.uk/lau/2010/03/10/asbestos-updates/
Asbestos News was launched on Monday 15th March 2010.
The aim of the blog is to provide up to date infomation and news on Asbestos management, legislation and other related information.
