Managing the risks from asbestos in buildings, including asbestos removal
What is asbestos?
- Hazardous properties
- Asbestos is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 1 Carcinogen and is known to cause cancer in humans. Asbestos is a group of fibrous materials including actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, crocidolite, tremolite.
- Asbestos containing materials
- Asbestos containing materials were used extensively in Guernsey during the past century. It is important that any person who carries out work where they may come across asbestos, or who intentionally works with the material, follows legal requirements in order to ensure that they, and persons who may be affected by the way they work, are not exposed to an unacceptable risk.
- Asbestos can found in a many of the common materials used in the building trade. Some of these materials should only be worked on by a specialist contractor (UK or Jersey licensed contractor, or HSE Guernsey approved).
- Asbestos image gallery (hse.gov.uk)
If you think you have found Asbestos?
If you come across any material you think may contain asbestos, you should:
- Stop work.
- Speak to your employer, or the building owner, to find out if there is asbestos in the building.
- Your employer should ask to see the building's asbestos register or survey and check they have enough information to do the work. For example, if you are breaking into the building fabric a refurbishment survey may be required. Do not do any work until this has been completed.
- Even if a survey has been done, it might not have found every location of asbestos. When you are starting work, be aware that asbestos could still be hidden.
- You must also not start work if you have not had training to work with or around asbestos.
You must stop work immediately and follow the guidance on what to do if you discover or accidentally disturb asbestos (PDF) .
Why is asbestos dangerous?
- Breathing in asbestos fibres can lead to asbestos-related lung diseases, mainly cancers, and can take from 15 - 60 years to develop. The vast majority of people now dying were exposed to asbestos during the 1950s and 1960s, when the use of asbestos in the UK was at its peak.
- Exposure to asbestos is the greatest cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain. Around 5000 people die every year from asbestos-related diseases.
- Many of today's asbestos victims worked in building trades. They were carpenters, joiners, shop fitters, plumbers, electricians etc. They were exposed to asbestos dust in their day-to-day work with asbestos materials or because work with asbestos was carried out near them.
- Around 20 tradesman die each week as a result of past exposure
- Locations of asbestos and actions to take
Left alone and in good condition, the risk from asbestos is low. However, once it is disturbed, asbestos fibres can be released and you can breathe them in. This can cause lung disease and cancer, which could prove fatal.You cannot see, smell or feel the fibres in the air or on your clothes, so you do not know asbestos is there.
More information on why asbestos is dangerous and where it can be found
What are asbestos-related diseases?
Mesothelioma
- Mesothelioma is a cancer which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura) and the lining surrounding the lower digestive tract (peritoneum). It is almost exclusively related to asbestos exposure and by the time it is diagnosed, it is almost always fatal.
Asbestos-related lung cancer
- Asbestos-related lung cancer is the same as (looks the same as) lung cancer caused by smoking and other causes. It is estimated that there is around one lung cancer for every mesothelioma death.
Asbestosis
- Asbestosis is a serious scarring condition of the lung that normally occurs after heavy exposure to asbestos over many years. This condition can cause progressive shortness of breath, and in severe cases can be fatal.
Pleural thickening
- Pleural thickening is generally a problem that happens after heavy asbestos exposure. The lining of the lung (pleura) thickens and swells. If this gets worse, the lung itself can be squeezed, and can cause shortness of breath and discomfort in the chest.
Duty to manage asbestos
Owners of commercial buildings and rented domestic properties
- This guidance is for the person who has a legal duty to manage asbestos in a building - the 'dutyholder'. This could be the:
- Building owner
- Landlord for the premises.
- Person or organisation with clear responsibility for the building's maintenance or repair.
- The dutyholder must protect people from the risks of exposure to asbestos. This includes people who work in their buildings or use them in other ways.
- You should assess your own competence. To do this, you may need to get some suitable training for duty to manage or additional support from industry specialists.
- The Dutyholder must:
- Assess if there are asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) present, the amount, where they are and their condition.
- Presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not.
- Make, and keep up to date, a record or register of the location and condition of the ACMs or presumed ACMs.
- Assess the risk of anyone being exposed to airborne fibres from the ACMs.
- Write an asbestos management plan to manage the risk, put the plan into action, monitor it and review it every 12 months or sooner if necessary.
- Monitor the condition of any ACMs or suspected ACMs.
- Provide information on the location and condition of the ACMs to anyone who may work on or disturb them, including the emergency services.
- This involves obtaining an asbestos management survey, which will identify likely asbestos-containing materials and mark them on drawings to form an asbestos register.
- As there is a positive duty to manage asbestos, your asbestos management plan will also identify any measures required to prevent the disturbance of materials, or their removal if they are in a poor condition. In accordance with the
Control of Asbestos - Approved Code of Practice [1Mb].
- You do not have to remove asbestos-containing materials if they are not damaged and do not pose risks to the persons within the building. You can simply manage them and review their condition regularly.
- If asbestos containing materials are damaged, they may need to be removed and a competent asbestos surveyor or removal contractor should be consulted.
- See The duty to manage asbestos in buildings: Overview - HSE.
Owners-occupiers of domestic properties
- Although there are no duties on you to undertake an asbestos management survey, any intrusive work will require an asbestos refurbishment/demolition survey before contractors undertake the work (eg. electrical, plumbing, demolition, refurbishment).
- It is the responsibility of the contractors to have an asbestos refurbishment / demolition survey in accordance with the
- Any person working with asbestos must be competent to do so, and qualifications will depend on the type of work they want to carry out.
Building maintenance, repair and refurbishment workers
- Workers undertaking building maintenance are particularly at risk of exposure to asbestos fibres released when asbestos-containing materials are disturbed.
- Before you carry out any maintenance, repair or refurbishment, on buildings built prior to 2000, you should check the asbestos register and management plan in a commercial building, or obtain an asbestos survey in domestic premises. If you uncover any hidden material or dust which you suspect may contain asbestos, stop work and get advice (you may contact HSE on 01481 220010 for additional information on emergency decontamination).
- You should also make sure that you are competent to work with asbestos. All construction workers should receive asbestos awareness training.
What your employer must do?
Your employer must take steps to protect you and others from the dangers of asbestos. If you are self-employed you are responsible.
- If your work could disturb the fabric of a building, your employer must:
- always establish if asbestos is likely to be disturbed during your work
- ensure you know what to do if you discover or disturb and release asbestos accidentally during your work.
- provide you with asbestos awareness training - this does not allow you to work on asbestos.
Your employer must also make sure any work that disturbs asbestos is risk assessed, planned and completed by appropriately trained and competent workers.
What workers must do?
- As a worker there are things you must do to protect yourself and others.
- If you know you are going to be carrying out work on asbestos, and are trained to do so, you should:
- plan your work with your employer.
- follow the control measures your employer has put in place to minimise the release of dust.
- use your protective equipment, including suitable respiratory protective equipment or RPE.
- wear your RPE properly, as shown in your training, and make sure you have passed a face fit test for the specific model and size of your respirator.
- always wear disposable overalls suitable for asbestos work.
- More information on personal protective equipment you need when working with asbestos (PDF) .
- You must never:
- use power tools without dust control measures in place, such as shadow vacuuming and using drill cowls as local extraction.
- sweep dust and debris. Always use a Type H vacuum cleaner or wet rags.
- reuse disposable clothing or RPE.
- eat or drink in the work area.
- HSE asbestos essentials task sheets provide guidance on a wide range of non-licensed work activities where asbestos is commonly found.
- See A worker's guide to asbestos safety - HSE.
Householders
- As owner-occupier, you do not have to complete an asbestos management plan (asbestos survey, register and action plan) for your own property. If you have any intrusive work done on your property, all contractors - builders, electricians, decorators etc. - will need to obtain an asbestos survey prior to the work being undertaken. It is often a good idea to arrange for your own survey to avoid duplication and reduce the cost.
- If you have an asbestos survey or register, you will need to share a copy with any contractor you use for building work, so that they are aware of the risks.
- If you are involved in DIY, or do work on your own property, you can find some useful safe methods of work and guidance on Asbestos Essentials (UK Guidance).
- Minor work on fully bonded Asbestos-Containing Materials such as corrugated asbestos cement roof sheets, textured coated ceilings (Artex) and vinyl floor tiles are classed as low risk:
- If the product in question is in good condition and not breaking-up or crumbling, then it shouldn't cause a problem. It will still be doing the job that it was intended to do when first installed.
- It is only if you need to repair / remove or drill into something that may contain asbestos that a problem arises.
- Asbestos image gallery (hse.gov.uk)
Asbestos Roof Sheets
- In addition to the basic asbestos awareness training which should be provided to all operatives whose work could foreseeably expose them to asbestos whilst carrying out their normal day-to-day work, persons who will intentionally disturb non-notifiable ACMs, such as asbestos cement and textured coatings, should receive additional training, specific to the risks associated with this type asbestos work.See Control of Asbestos (gov.gg) Part 4.
- Enclosures are not generally required for work with asbestos cement products, eg corrugated roofing sheets and building panels as Asbestos cement items normally present lower risks. However, there may be occasions when an enclosure is needed for asbestos cement. If the asbestos cement is extensive and difficult to remove, resulting in much breakage and debris, or the work is close to occupied or sensitive areas, then an enclosure may be needed.
- Precautions for work with these materials are described in the HSE - Asbestos: Asbestos essentials.
- Uncontrolled dry stripping of any asbestos must not take place as can expose asbestos stripping workers to high concentrations of asbestos fibres.
- The selection and use of tools and equipment can greatly affect exposure levels; abrasive power and pneumatic tools in particular can create high fibre concentrations. Every effort should be made to avoid the use of such tools, ie power tools should be avoided.
- Employers should ensure that any work with asbestos is covered by their insurance policy, as required by the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) (Guernsey) Law, 1995.
- Before you do any work with potential asbestos containing materials you should seek specialist advice from a competent person.
- If you have any queries please contact the Health & Safety Executive (Tel. 01481 220010 or hse@gov.gg).
Disposal of asbestos sheeting (bonded asbestos)
- Keep the bonded material intact as much as possible,
- Asbestos cement sheets can be removed by cutting the bolts from underneath, and keeping the material damp to reduce any fibre release,
- Double bag asbestos waste before it dries, in heavy duty polythene bags / sheets,
- Label the outer one to show that it contains asbestos,
- If a skip is being used, then do not mix other building material / rubbish with it; skips containing asbestos must be covered,
- This can then be taken to Mont Cuet landfill site for disposal on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings only. Please follow this link for waste sites opening times.
Asbestos works undertaken by non Guernsey based firms
- Where an employer or self-employed person already holds a licence issued by the UK HSE, Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland or The Minister for Social Security in Jersey, they will be considered as competent to extend their work to The Bailiwick of Guernsey. In such cases any conditions on the licence will also apply to any work carried out in Guernsey. A copy of the contractor's licence must be made available to the HSE at the time of notification detailing any relevant conditions or additional restrictions.
- It is incumbent on the contractor to familiarise themselves with the Guernsey Asbestos ACOP and guidance which can be found by clicking here. The contractors must be able to prove to the HSE that they have adequate knowledge, experience and arrangements to carry out the work safely, without risk to the health and safety of persons who work with the ACMs or others who may be affected by the work. They must also display an adequate knowledge of all types of ACMs that they are likely to encounter, and appreciate the limitations of work which they can perform; they must know how to cope with situations where they encounter materials which they do not have the expertise to deal with. As such training certificates and other documentation may be required by HSE Guernsey prior to work commencing, so should be available to the contractors at short notice in order to prevent delay in starting the work.
Removal / disposal of asbestos lagging, insulation boards, loose fill insulation and sprayed asbestos should only be removed by a specialist contractors.
- In view of the serious risks to health caused by exposure to asbestos fibres when working on, or in the event of disturbing ACMs, most work with ACMs, which can lead to the high release of asbestos fibres, is restricted to specialist asbestos removal contractors. See Control of Asbestos (gov.gg) Part 3.
- Specialist contractor details can be obtained found in the phonebook or from the Health and Safety Executive - Phone 01481 220010
- Disposal must be booked in advance with Waste Services 01481 226263.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Health and Safety Executive before commencing work if you have any concerns or are unsure whether asbestos is present: hse@gov.gg or 01481 220010.
