Legislation and duties

When asbestos is disturbed or damaged, the fibres are released into the air and people breathe them in, which creates a risk to human health. The types of work that release fibres include, for example, drilling holes with power tools, sawing or sanding material. Simply working near to materials containing asbestos might result in disturbance, particularly if it is in poor condition. Accidental damage, wear and tear or vandalism can release fibres from ACMs, for example in walls, ceilings and floor coverings.

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

This act requires employers to provide a safe place of work. The form of words within the Act requires protection for all contractors, workers engaged outside the employers own workforce and the general public.

Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006

These Regulations came into force on 13th November 2006 and combined three previous sets of regulations controlling exposure to asbestos, including the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations, 2002 which introduced a legal duty (Regulation 4) to manage asbestos in all non-domestic buildings, (including the common areas of residential properties). The person having the legal duty, known as the duty holder, is either the controller of the building (eg. Owner, Managing Agent) or the person who has maintenance responsibilities for the building.

Your legal obligations as the Duty Holder

• To manage the risk from asbestos OR
• To co-operate with whoever manages that risk

The HSE can enforce the regulations and those duty holders who don’t comply could face fines of £20,000 or six months in prison. According to a recent survey, some 58% of companies in Britain had failed to carry out an asbestos assessment of their business.

What you need to do

• Find out if your building contains asbestos
• Assess the risk from the material
• Formulate and implement a plan to manage the risk

Should you require any advice or assistance, please feel free to contact us at info@aawoods.com or simply fill out the form on our contact page.