Asbestos Management
Asbestos management is the key requirement of the Control of Asbestos Regulations, and while following a risk assessment process, or survey of the property in question, preparing a Management Plan will be the first step in the process of asbestos management.
The Management Plan in principal should be designed to control the risk from a known portfolio of asbestos containing materials within the premises in order to ensure that exposure of staff, contractors and the public to asbestos fibres is reduced to a minimum and maintained within certain limits. Key elements of asbestos management include:
Monitoring the condition of asbestos containing materials: All materials deteriorate and those containing asbestos fibres will tend to shed more fibres as they age. Materials subject to physical contact with people or vehicles will deteriorate much more quickly, and so the risk assessments made during the initial survey will change, and will need to be updated in the asbestos management plan.
Management of the condition of asbestos containing materials: By the time you prepare an asbestos management plan, the materials within your premises that contain asbestos will have been assessed and the risk they present will be known. Role of asbestos management then, is to gradually reduce this risk score by various means until the risk is acceptable. The material risk may be reduced by sealing or encapsulating it for example, or the priority risk may be reduced by changing the usage of a room from a meeting room to a store room and restricting access to the room. Records will need to be updated following any changes and the plan will need to say how this is achieved.
Communication with employees, contractors, members of the public etc: Key sectors of people need to know where asbestos containing materials are located if they are to avoid exposure and if they are supposed to avoid disturbing the materials. Role of your asbestos management will be to establish means of communication and training which will achieve this.
Implementation of a safe system of work: Simply assuming that your communication is sufficient is not acceptable and systems need to be included in your asbestos management plan to ensure that an unexpected release of fibres does not take place. A safe system of work might include a Permit to Work system, whereby any contractor working on your site would need to be issued with a document by a member of your staff – thereby enabling your staff to control better the contractor’s activities.
These are the main elements of asbestos management, although your plan should also contain other details such as your company asbestos policy, how to manage and report an unexpected release of fibres, how to contact an approved asbestos consultant or removal specialist and other information specific to your site or property.
