Asbestos Management and Regulations

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a term used for various forms of naturally occurring fibrous silicate minerals which were extensively added to building materials that have been used in the UK for fire protection and insulation. The fibrous mineral was also used extensively for bonding in many low risk materials. The most hazardous Asbestos Containing Materials tend to be those where the mineral was used to ‘insulate or fire protect’ for example Sprayed Asbestos Coatings, Pipe Insulation and Asbestos Insulation Board.

The three most common asbestos types used were CROCIDOLITE (blue), AMOSITE (brown) and CHRYSOTILE (white).

Asbestos Legislation

The Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992 banned the importation, supply and use of Amphibole asbestos and these were amended in 1999 to implement the European Directive 1999/77/EC which extended the ban to include Chrysotile asbestos and effectively banned the use, supply and importation of all asbestos in the UK.

The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 and subsequent Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 introduced Regulation 4 – ‘The Duty to Manage Asbestos in Non-Domestic Premises’. The Duty to Manage imposed a mandatory duty on those that own, occupy and/or manage non-domestic premises to ‘manage’ the risk from Asbestos Containing Materials in their workplaces. This includes all nondomestic premises such as offices, factories, schools, hospitals, public buildings etc AND also includes the ‘common and communal areas’ to domestic premises.

In brief Regulation 4 requires there to be a ‘Duty-Holder’ who is responsible for the management of asbestos within the premises. The ‘Duty-Holder’ must make a suitable and sufficient assessment to determine the risks posed by asbestos in their premises and to compile and maintain a written Asbestos Management Plan to detail the management processes that are in place.

The management of asbestos is a very complex process and as such the HSE have issued an individual Approved Code of Practice to cover Regulation 4 titled ‘The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises’ (L127).

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