Asbestos was widely used as a building material throughout the 60s and 70s. Asbestos still kills around 5,000 workers each year, more than the number of people who die on the road!

Being a relatively inert substance, so long as asbestos remains in good condition and is undisturbed, it presents no risk. However, fibres can be released if disturbed or damaged, which offers a significant health hazard and cancer risk. Removing asbestos from buildings presents a higher risk than leaving it in place, so identification and containment is the modern approach.

Who Has the Duty?

The duty to “manage” asbestos under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 does not apply to domestic property - it only applies to non-domestic. Although the obligation does not apply to domestic premises such as private houses, it applies to the ‘common parts’ of multi-occupancy domestic premises, such as purpose-built flats or houses converted into apartments. Where there are common parts, whoever is under a duty to keep in repair and maintain those common parts is the ‘duty holder’ under the regulations.

What Is the Duty?

The duty to manage asbestos requires the duty holder to:

take reasonable steps to find out if there are materials containing asbestos in non-domestic premises, and if so, its amount, where it is and what condition it is in
presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not
make, and keep up-to-date, a record of the location and state of the asbestos-containing materials - or materials that are presumed to contain asbestos
assess the risk of anyone being exposed to fibres from the materials identified
prepare a plan that sets out in detail how you will manage the risks from these materials
take the necessary steps to put the plan into action
periodically review and monitor the plan and the arrangements to act on it so that the plan remains relevant and up-to-date
provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone liable to work on or disturb them.

Removing Asbestos

If the materials are high risk (e.g. pipe insulation and asbestos insulating panels), you will need to employ a licensed contractor. If the materials are lower risk (e.g. asbestos cement sheets and roofing), then an unlicensed but competent and trained contractor may carry out the work.

More Information

The HSE website has a dedicated section for working with asbestos here - https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/.

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