Asbestos Management

Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR 2006) contains an explicit duty to assess and manage the risks from the presence of asbestos. The risks will vary with circumstances and can arise from normal occupation of a building or from inadvertent disturbance during the repair, refurbishment and demolition of the premises. The assessment will be used to produce a management plan which details and records the actions to be undertaken to manage and reduce the risks from asbestos. The requirements are placed on “duty holders” who should:

• Take reasonable steps to determine the location of materials likely to contain asbestos;
• Presume materials to contain asbestos, unless there are good reasons not to do so;
• Make and maintain a written record of the location of the asbestos and presumed asbestos materials;
• Assess and monitor the condition of asbestos and presumed asbestos materials;
• Assess the risk of exposure from the asbestos and presumed asbestos materials and prepare a written plan of the actions and measures necessary to manage the risk (ie the “management plan”); and
• Take steps to see that the actions above are carried out

To manage the risk from ACMs the Duty Holder will need to:

• Keep and maintain an up-to-date record of the location, condition, maintenance and removal of all ACMs on the premises;
• Repair, seal or remove ACMs if there is a risk of exposure due to their condition or location;
• Maintain ACMs in a good state of repair and regularly monitor their condition;
• Inform anyone who is liable to disturb the ACMs about their location and condition;
• Have arrangements and procedures in place so that work which may disturb the ACMs complies with CAR; and
• Review the plan at regular intervals and make changes to the plan and arrangements if circumstances change.

About David Cant

A chartered (fellow) safety and risk management practitioner with 20+ years of experience. David provides a healthy dose of how-to articles, advice and guidance to make compliance easier for construction professionals, Architects and the built environment. Get social with David on Twitter and Linkedin.