Dean Howells Essential Safety, Health & Safety Blog

New Asbestos Regulations - Posted 22nd May 2012

From 6^th April the new Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012  replaced the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.

The new Regulations mean that more work involving asbestos will attract the requirement for medical examinations, notification and records. For many employers, the new Regulations will have very little, if any, impact upon their duties to manage asbestos.

However, for businesses in control of premises containing Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM’s), or those working with them, the main changes are:

• There will now be three categories of asbestos work:
  1. Non- Licensable Work – Work that is infrequent, low intensity, and is either short or non-continuous maintenance work involving materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly bonded within the material (i.e. asbestos cement products)
  2. Notifiable Non-Licensable Work (NNLW) – Minor maintenance work or removal of some ACM's such as asbestos insulation board, longer periods of work involving asbestos cement, or the removal of substantially degraded asbestos cement.
  3. Licensed Work – Work which is frequent, high intensity or work where the control limit could be exceeded
• Employers carrying out NNLW will be required to notify the HSE of that work, and ensure that workers have medical examinations every three years.
• There is a planned three year transition period to 30^th April 2015 before the requirement for workers carrying out NNLW to have medical examinations, allowing employers time to put suitable arrangements in place.

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Roofer Tagged for Dumping Asbestos - Posted May 10th 2012

A roofer has been electronically tagged after admitting to fly-tipping asbestos on a road in Kent.

In October last year, a roofer had dismantled a shed roof for a client and loaded the debris in the back of an open truck. He drove the vehicle to two scrap which refused to take the debris as it contained asbestos.

Having failed to find someone to take the waste, he then dumped it in two loads nearby. He was spotted fly-tipping the load by one of the businesses, which reported the incident to Medway Council. Environmental health officers from the council visited both sites and found CCTV footage of  the hazardous substance being dumped.

This act involved breach of regualtion10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and a number of environmental charges. He was sentenced to a curfew order between 8:30pm and 6:30am for four months and ordered to wear an electronic tag. He was also ordered to pay £1020 in costs.

In delivering the sentence, chair of the bench Angela Howe said: “We consider this to be a very serious offence with you being fully aware that asbestos is a dangerous substance and a danger to the public.” 



Full article

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New Asbestos Survey Guidance Published - Health & Safety Information

The new guidance document “Asbestos: The survey guide” is now available.

The guide will be of interest to anyone who commissions asbestos surveys, as well as those carrying them out, or using them to consider the asbestos risks at their premises.

The guide provides specific advice on asbestos surveying and sampling techniques, but also contains details of changes to asbestos survey types. The old “Type 1”, Type 2” and “Type 3”
surveys have now been replaced by the “Management Survey” and the “Demolition/Refurbishment Survey”.

The responsibilities of the “Duty Holder” to check the competence and qualifications of persons they appoint to carry out asbestos surveys on their behalf have also been clarified.

The guide can be downloaded free of charge at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/index-hsg-ref.htm?ebul=cons/feb10&cr=6

http://www.essentialsafetyconsulting.co.uk/health-safety-midlands-risk-assessements.html