Asbestos Legislation
Asbestos legislation has existed in the UK for many years, some dating back to the 1920s when hazards from the substance became widely recognised. In recent times however the HSE has introduced risk assessment based asbestos legislation in the form of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 (CAWR). Although introduced in 2002 the regulations became mandatory in May 2004, and subsequently they were slightly modified when re-issued as the Control of Asbestos Regulations in 2006.
The Statutory Instrument itself is of course extensive and detailed, and to many property managers and owners, current asbestos legislation is effectively Regulation 4, the Duty to Manage Asbestos in Non-Domestic Premises. Just a note here about the Non-Domestic reference: this is something of a grey area. Straightforward domestic properties (houses for example) are of course wholly exempt from the regulations, although for peace of mind or for negotiating purposes when buying a house, asbestos surveys are regularly commissioned for private domestic properties. Flats are a different kettle of fish, and common areas (stairwells, corridors etc) are classed as non-domestic parts of the building. Other parts of the building are less clear, and most landlords and property managers seek to include the building’s infra-structure just in case. The situation is even less clear with sheltered housing, where HSE guidance seems to exempt some common rooms and include others. In common with many sets of Regulations, asbestos legislation raises more questions than it provides answers.
Domestic properties apart, it is clear that any property not related to domestic occupation will be required to comply with Regulation 4. Contrary to popular opinion, this does not require the Duty holder (the person responsible for the property under asbestos legislation) to commission an asbestos survey. Its main requirement is that the asbestos materials that exist within a property are “managed”. However, in order to manage asbestos materials you need to know where they are, so for most businesses not employing full time H&S professionals, this does mean that a professional asbestos surveyor will be required.
Once all asbestos materials have been identified and risk assessments are undertaken on those materials, a management plan should be prepared which will ensure that no person is exposed to a dangerous level of asbestos fibres. The plan will be needed, to consider anyone concerned with the property, including staff, members of the public and especially contractors and others who may work on the fabric of the building. Protecting this last category of people is a specific target of asbestos legislation, as historically they have suffered a great deal of exposure.
