HSE - Asbestos: Your Duty campaign

Asbestos was banned over 25 years ago; however, it is still present today in pre 2000s buildings. Asbestos is not dangerous until damaged or disturbed, but as buildings get older, the likelihood of damage to the material is greater, unless maintained.

There are legal duties involved with managing asbestos in buildings and building managers must comply with the laws. These legal requirements concern many public buildings such as museums, schools, hospitals, and places of worship, as well as workplaces like offices and factories.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new campaign to emphasise the legal duties to manage asbestos.

Asbestos: Your Duty launched on Monday 15th January 2024.

The new campaign speaks out to people with building management responsibilities, to help them further understand what they must do in order to keep the people using these buildings safe.

Businesses and organisations responsible for buildings built before the 2000s and especially those between 1950 and 1980, when the use of asbestos in construction was at its peak, must carry out the necessary checks and understand their legal responsibilities.

The HSE’s website will feature new resources and updated information. An asbestos management plan template will be available alongside videos to help refresh your knowledge on the legal duties of asbestos management. Access these resources here.

HSE will be inspecting how asbestos is managed in buildings when visiting to ensure there are the correct arrangements in place to mitigate the risks.

Sarah Albon, HSE’s chief executive said: “To keep people safe from the harms of asbestos, a culture of safely managing asbestos is needed in our building industry and among those responsible for buildings.

“Asbestos exposure in Great Britain is still the single greatest cause of work-related deaths due to exposures decades ago.

“Together, we must protect people in the workplace and reduce future work-related ill health.”

If you require support with any health & safety issues or management, including asbestos, FusionHR partner with Stallard Kane to provide health & safety services to the education sector. To learn more, get in touch.

Source: HSE