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Asbestos Regulations

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identify asbestos as being the greatest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Since the 1970’s constantly evolving legislation has been introduced to help manage the hazard of asbestos. The current legislation governing the management of asbestos is the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (CAR 2006), in which the HSE places a ‘duty to manage’ asbestos in all non-domestic premises. The primary aim of this legislation is simply to protect people and save lives.

The Duty to Manage

The duty to manage asbestos is described in the main by regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. It places a legal duty on the ‘duty holder’ to take active steps to identify, manage and monitor Asbestos Containing Materials in their property. The duty to manage asbestos will involve carrying out an inspection of the property, ideally by an independent UKAS accredited inspection body. This information should be recorded in an asbestos register which can be referred to by any visiting contractor to prevent accidental exposure and should be used to help create an asbestos management plan.

Who is the duty holder?

In most cases the duty holder is the person or organisation that has a clear responsibility for the maintenance and repair of any non-domestic premises. The duty holder may be whoever controls or owns the property but equally the duty holder responsibilities may transfer through an explicit agreement or contract (i.e. tenancy agreement).

What happens if you don’t manage asbestos?

Simply put, someone is legally responsible for taking reasonable steps to manage the risk of asbestos in your workplace. The reality is that a failure to manage and monitor asbestos in non-domestic premises can result in prosecution, disruption to business, loss of insurance cover, personal fines and potentially a custodial sentence.

A Helping Hand to Understand Asbestos Regulations

Whilst the potential consequences of not managing asbestos risks are severe the good news is that taking a responsible approach to managing the asbestos risks in your workplace is normally easier and less costly than you imagine.

First Order Red understands the complexity of the modern workplace and knows you can’t be an expert on everything. We work with our customers to produce the right asbestos management plan for their business. Our tailor made asbestos solutions ensures that our customers comply with current legislation in the most cost effective way possible. If you are unsure how current asbestos regulations affect you and would like some advice please ask the experts.

For impartial advice about asbestos and asbestos regulations why not visit the HSE website.