Asbestos
Management
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 requires an employer
to provide a safe workplace. Work with asbestos is covered
by its own set of regulations (CAWR). There are duties to
prepare a risk assessment and to make written arrangement
to protect those at risk in the Management of Health and Safety
at Work Regulation 1992. Arrangement to deal with asbestos
during refurbishment may also be required by Construction
(Design and Management) Regulations 1994.
If you are an employer, you have a legal
duty to prevent any sort of exposure to asbestos your employees,or
in difficult circumstances try to reduce any exposure to the
lowest level. Soon a new duty to manage asbestos will be added
to the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations. The rush has
already began by companies preparing to meet the demands of
the HSE (Health Safety Executive) consultation document CD159
which has resulted in the introduction of radical amendments
to the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulation.
Clearly this will have a major impact on
refurbishment projects being undertaken on older premises,
and buildings, particularly those that were built in the 1960's
and 1970's.
The effects of the new legislation which
will be known as CAWR 2001 will require managers of non-domestic
premises, including local authority tenanted housing, to survey
their property for the presence of asbestos. They are required
to keep and maintain an up-to-date register, which provides
information, instruction and training for those who are likely
to disturb asbestos, maintain the asbestos in good condition
(and monitor them) and check that the management systems are
working. This puts facilities managers firmly in the forefront
of the action as building owners are trusting them with the
running of their premises from a health and safety aspect,
as well as day-to-day operations.
Managing asbestos
The new regulation will create an definite duty to
assess and manage the risks from asbestos in buildings. The
risks will vary with circumstances diversifying from normal
occupation of a building to the repair, refurbishment and
demolition of the building, and they will each need to be
assessed. This assessment will be used to produce a management
plan which details the records the actions to be undertaken
to manage and reduce the risk from asbestos. These requirements
on employers are to:
• take reasonable steps to determine
the location of materials likely to contain asbestos;
• presume materials to contain asbestos, unless there
are good reasons not to do so;
• make and maintain a written record of the location
of the asbestos and presumed asbestos materials;
• monitor the condition of asbestos and presumed asbestos
materials;
• assess the risk of exposure from the asbestos and
presumed asbestos materials and document the actions necessary
to manage the risk; and
• take steps to see the action above are carried out.
To manage the risk from asbestos- containing
materials you will need to:
• keep and maintain an up to date
record of the location, condition, maintenance and removal
of all asbestos-containing materials on the premises;
• repair, seal or remove, if there is a risk of exposure
due to its condition or location;
• maintain it in a good state of repair and regularly
monitor the condition;
• inform anyone who is likely to disturb it about the
location and condition of the material;
• have arrangements and procedures in place, so that
work which may disturb the materials compile with CAWR; and
• review the plan at regular intervals and make changes
to the plan and arrangements if circumstances change.
Health and safety issues
Surveying and sampling asbestos-containing materials (ACMs)
can give rise to exposure to asbestos and is covered by CAWR,
which require an assessment and plan of work to be made, setting
out the control measures and personal protective equipment
(PPE) to be used. It also requires that adequate information;
training and refresher training have been given to the sampling
personnel. Sampling ACMs is, however, exempt from the asbestos
(Licensing) regulations (1983) as amended, but covered by
the CAWR ACOP on unlicensed work. As other hazards may be
present, such as working at heights and electrical hazards,
a risk assessment will need to be carried out before commencing
work on site. It should include any safety aspects and record
any safety protocol to be observed on site. Fire alarm/evacuation
procedures should be included.
Reference: http://www.hse.gov.uk
Duty Holder Information
http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/campaign/duty.htm
General Information http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/
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