Asbestos dangers, buildings ships cement insulating tiles cladding roof

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INFORMATION ABOUT ASBESTOS

Asbestos is the biggest occupational killer in the UK and appears in over 3000 different building products and was used in our homes, offices, factories and schools.

Those most at risk from contracting Asbestos related diseases are building maintenance, repair workers and contractors who are unknowingly disturbing asbestos containing materials on a daily basis.

Asbestos in buildings

Building materials containing asbestos were widely used from 1930 to around 1980, particularly from the 1960s onwards. So, houses and flats built or refurbished at this time may contain asbestos materials.

Asbestos in the marine industry on board ships and vessels

Most marine vessels built during the 1960's and 1970's comprise(d) substantial quantities of asbestos of all types. Duty to manage (see below) also applies to marine vessels.

Asbestos has also been used in some heat-resistant household products, such as oven gloves and ironing boards. It has also been used for thermal insulation of pipes and boilers.

Insulating board has been used for fire protection, heat and sound insulation and is found in materials such as ducts, infill panels, ceiling tiles, wall lining, bath panels and partitions. It is unlikely to be found in buildings constructed after 1982.

Sprayed asbestos coatings were used for fire protection of structural steel and are commonly found in system-built flats during the 1960s.

Asbestos-cement is the most widely used asbestos material. It is found in many types of buildings as profiled sheets for roofing and wall-cladding, in bath panels and soffit boards, fire surrounds, flue pipes, cold water tanks and as roofing tiles and slates. It has been commonly used as roofing and cladding for garages and sheds and also in guttering and drain pipes. Asbestos-cement products are unlikely to release high levels of fibre’s because of the way they are made, unless they are subject to extreme abrasion.

Asbestos has been used in a variety of other building materials, for example, in decorative coatings such as textured paints and plasters. Plastic floor tiles, cushion flooring, roofing felts, tapes, ropes, felts and blankets can also contain asbestos.

Regulations

The duties imposed on people who either have obligations under contracts or tenancies to maintain or repair non-domestic property, or who have control over non-domestic premises, or over the access to and from non-domestic property. These duties were first imposed by regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 (CAWR 2002) but now appear in regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (CAR 2006).

The duties affect freehold owners, landlords and tenants and, in certain circumstances, licensees and managing agents. It should be noted that non-domestic premises may sometimes include areas of what normally would be regarded as residential property.

The CAR 2006 came into force on 13 November 2006. These revised regulations revoke and replace the CAWR 2002 and revoke and re-enact, with modifications, the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983 and the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992. Regulation 4 of the CAWR 2002 has been re-enacted without change as regulation 4 of the CAR 2006.

With the new regulations in place even greater pressure is on duty holders, to ensure compliance.

The Duty to Manage

The duty to manage asbestos was added to the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations and enforcement began in May 2004. It applies to you as duty holder if you have maintenance and repair responsibilities for non-domestic premises either through contract or tenancy agreement, or because you own the premises.

The duty to manage requires those in control of premises to :

take reasonable steps to determine the location and condition of materials likely to contain asbestos
presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not
make and keep an up to date record of the location and condition of the ACMs or presumed ACMs in the premises
assess the risk of the likelihood of anyone being exposed to fibres from these materials
prepare a plan setting out how the risks from the materials are to be managed
take the necessary steps to put the plan into action
review and monitor the plan periodically
provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them.

The HSE estimates that 60 per cent of duty holders are aware of their responsibilities, but the remaining 40 per cent remain ignorant of the law and at risk of prosecution.

The key elements of compliance are the Management Plan which is required by the regulation, the asbestos register which records the location and condition of asbestos as identified during an asbestos survey or a thorough inspection of the premises, and the survey itself - not legally required in many cases.

If you are concerned about your asbestos register, and not sure if you comply with the current legislation please contact us and we will advise you at no cost.

The purpose of the legislation is to protect people at work from exposure to asbestos, both those employed by your organisation directly and contractors who come in to supply maintenance or other services.

Be Aware...

If you are responsible for maintaining any type of property with the exception of a domestic house with no common shared areas, you must manage the asbestos within it. Failure to comply can result in heavy fines, disqualification as a director and in some cases imprisonment.