Managing asbestos – New HSE campaign focuses on asbestos duties
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) launched a campaign to improve understanding of the legal duties to manage asbestos. Launched on the 15th of January this year, the Asbestos: Your Duty campaign aims to highlight the risk of asbestos in buildings and raise awareness of the legal duty to manage these risks.
The legal duty to manage asbestos covers a wide range of buildings such as museums, schools, hospitals, and places of worship, as well as workplaces and common areas of some domestic properties.
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What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a natural fibrous rock. There are three main types:
-??????? Crocidolite (blue asbestos)
-??????? Amosite (brown asbestos)
-??????? Chrysotile (white asbestos)
Asbestos acts as an insulator, has good fire protection properties, and protects against corrosion.
Due to these properties, asbestos can be found in many construction materials and building fittings including ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, boilers and sprayed coatings. It was used widely from the 1950s through to 1999, when using asbestos in the construction or refurbishment of buildings was made illegal in the UK.
Despite the ban, asbestos remains in some buildings constructed before 1999, and ongoing maintenance and repair work can cause exposure to asbestos fibres if not managed effectively.
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Why is asbestos dangerous?
Asbestos is the leading cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain. Around 5000 people die from asbestos-related diseases every year in the UK. Deaths remain high, after over 20 years of the material being banned, due to the slow development and incurable nature of these illnesses.
Inhaling asbestos fibres can cause mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer. Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lung lining. It is always fatal and is almost exclusively caused by exposure to asbestos. Asbestos-related lung cancer is almost always fatal.
Asbestos presents a risk to health when the fibres become airborne. This happens through cutting, drilling, or otherwise breaking up asbestos containing material during construction work. Working on or near damaged asbestos can also risk exposure to high levels of asbestos fibres.
A key risk factor for developing an asbestos-related disease is the total number of fibres inhaled. Even small jobs can be dangerous if carried out regularly.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 set standards for the protection of workers and others from the risks of exposure to asbestos.
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Dutyholders and responsibilities
The duty to manage asbestos in buildings covers all non-domestic premises, as well as common areas of multi-occupancy domestic premises.
Non-domestic premises include industrial and commercial buildings, such as:
-??????? Factories
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-??????? Warehouses
-??????? Offices
-??????? Shops
They also include public buildings, such as:
-??????? Hospitals
-??????? Schools
-??????? Places of worship
-??????? Museums and libraries
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The ‘dutyholder’ to manage asbestos in these buildings could include:
-??????? Building owner
-??????? Landlord
-??????? Person or organisation with clear responsibility for the building's maintenance or repair
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Tenancy agreements and contracts can place duties to manage asbestos on certain people or organisations. For public buildings, the relevant dutyholder will depend on who is responsible for maintenance of the building. This could be an employer or local authority.
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To comply with the law on work involving asbestos, different actions are required depending on your responsibilities. The HSE website provides guidance on actions to take depending on your job role.
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Understanding the dangers and legal duties is key to managing asbestos effectively. Protect against asbestos now to prevent irreversible and often fatal illnesses in the future.
Visit the HSE website for more information about the duties to manage asbestos in buildings.
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