8/12/2019 Asbestos Guidance
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Asbestos Guidance
Asbestos is a material comprising fibres of silicate material
whichwas used for many years as a fire protection and
insulationmaterial. It can be found in many building in boiler,
roof linings,internal partitions, vehicle brakes, filter materials
and many others.It comes in three forms, white, brown and blue. It
has now beenfound to be the cause of serious lung diseases
includingasbestosis and mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer which
is onlycaused by asbestos and is fatal in most cases.
One of the problems related to asbestos exposure is that
theincubation period for this disease can be as long as 30 years
and
there is no close dose/response relationship as with
mostoccupational health risks.
The use of asbestos has now been banned and legislation put is
place to control exposure
Legal requirementsThe key piece of legislation is the Control of
Asbestos Regulations 2006.The main requirements of these
regulations are:
1. The person in control of non-domestic premises has a duty to
takereasonable steps to establish whether there is any
asbestoscontaining material present in the premises and if so, the
location,type quantity and condition.
a. Surveys must be carried out which can be Type 1 which
isvisual only and Type 2 which involved taking samples
foranalysis.
b. Unless there is strong evidence that a material is not
asbestos,for the purpose of the survey it should be assumed that it
is.
2. A register should be compiled and kept updated, showing
thelocation, type and condition of any asbestos or material
presumedto be asbestos.
3. Carry out an assessment of the risk of a person being exposed
to asbestos fibres.4. Prepare a manage plan showing how exposure to
asbestos will be managed. This can
include:
a. Appropriate labelling where the material is in good condition
and not in a positionwhere it is likely to be damaged
b. Sealing the material to prevent release of fibres
c. If the material is in poor condition it may need to be
removed. This must be doneby a licensed contractor and taken to a
licensed disposal site.
d. You should ensure that you audit the disposal arrangements
being used by thecontractor.
