Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. Are you prepared?

The above Regulation which doesn't become law until 21st May 2004 creates a new legal duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises.

It will apply to anyone who has maintenance and repair responsibilities for non-domestic premises either through a contract, tenancy agreement or because they own the premises. The duty will require the affected parties to manage the risk from asbestos by:

a) Finding out if there is asbestos on the premises, its amount and what condition it is in.

b) Presuming materials contain asbestos unless you have strong evidence that they do not.

c) Making and keeping up to date records of the location and condition of the Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) or presumed ACMs in your premises.

d) Assessing the risk from the material.

e) Preparing a plan that sets out in detail how you are going to manage the risk from this material.

f) Taking the steps needed to put your plan into action.

g) Reviewing and monitoring your plan and the arrangements made to put it in place.

h) Providing information on the location and condition of the material to anybody who is liable to work on it or disturb it.

Anybody who has information on the whereabouts of asbestos on your premises is required to make this available to you as the duty holder. Those who are not duty holders but control access to the premises would have to co-operate with you in managing the asbestos.

In order to comply with the new duty, the duty holder must:

a) Find out if asbestos is present.

b) Presume the material is asbestos.

c) Survey a sample for asbestos.

d) Assess the condition of any asbestos containing material (ACMs).

e) Record the asbestos or presumed asbestos and its condition.

f) Assess the potential risk from the ACMs.

g) Decide what to do. If asbestos is in good condition and is not likely to be damaged and is not likely to be worked on or disturbed, it is usually safer to leave it in place and manage it.

If the asbestos is in poor condition or is likely to be damaged or disturbed, you will need to decide whether it should be repaired, sealed, enclosed or removed.

If you are unaware of the condition of the asbestos and cannot decide what action to take, specialist advice should be sought from an Asbestos Surveyor, laboratory or licensed contractor.

h) Take the appropriate action.

i) Repair and remove and appropriate.

j) Check what you have done.

k) Monitor and review the effectiveness of the plan.

The new duty also requires you to make information on the location and condition of the asbestos available to everybody liable to work on it and disturb it.

They must all be made aware of where the ACM is, the possibility of coming across hidden ACM which might not be recorded. If in doubt, obtain specialist advice. Clearly, landlords, tenants and owner-occupiers are all potentially affected by this regulation, implications are not complying with this legislation are serious.

For further information, please either contact Andrew Coney at our Preston office or the Health & Safety Executive direct on their website www.hse.gov.uk. There is a link on this website under 'Useful Links' or obtain their guide 'Managing Asbestos in Premises'.

Andrew T Coney
Partner