THE Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is marking Global Asbestos Awareness Week by advising dutyholders to check that they are compliant in areas that inspectors find need improving when visiting premises.
Building owners, landlords and tradespeople who fail to manage asbestos risks may face prosecution. The most common pitfalls found by inspectors are:
- asbestos management plans not in place to ensure the condition of asbestos-containing materials is routinely monitored
- information, instruction, and training provided for managing asbestos is inadequate
- procedures and arrangements to manage work liable to disturb known or presumed asbestos-containing materials need improving.
Nicholas James from HSE’s engagement and policy division said, “The law requires that asbestos in buildings is proactively managed and monitored. This means active monitoring – not a one-off check. The priorities are clear – accurate identification and assessment of asbestos-containing materials, robust procedures and arrangements for managing risk, ongoing active management and condition monitoring, effective communication and relevant training. Don’t let poor management arrangements be the reason an inspector finds you failing.”
HSE provides a host of free guidance and advice for dutyholders at www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos.
HSE inspectors can visit premises without warning. Where management is found to be lacking, enforcement action is taken to require that appropriate risk management measures are put in place. Non-compliance can result in fines and criminal records.
The legal duty to manage asbestos applies to a wide range of non-domestic and multi-occupancy premises – from offices, factories and shops to schools, hospitals and places of worship. It applies to building owners, landlords and those responsible for maintenance and repair.
Four steps every dutyholder must take:
- Arrange an asbestos survey, or review any existing ones
- Create a register and assess the risk
- Write an asbestos management plan
- Put the plan into action and keep it under review
A recent prosecution shows the consequences of getting it wrong. A site manager received a suspended prison sentence, a five-year director disqualification, and an electronically monitored curfew after failing to use a licensed contractor to clear asbestos from a demolition site. The two companies involved were fined a combined £88,300 and ordered to pay over £9,000 in costs and surcharges.
