NW BT UNION HEALTH & SAFETY
 
 
     

 

Revised Asbestos Regulations Come In To Force

  


Revised Asbestos Regulations Come In To Force

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006,  come into force on 13th November 2006.

 

The HSE view is that the revised regulations will strengthen overall worker protection by reducing exposure limits and introducing mandatory training for work with asbestos.

 

Simplification of the regulatory regime and implementation of the revisions to the EU Asbestos Worker Protection Directive, plus replacement of three existing sets of Asbestos Regulations; are the main advantages of the enw legislation.

 

Minister for Health and Safety, Lord Hunt said: "These new provisions will help prevent around 6,500 occupational deaths from exposures to asbestos over the next 50 years. There is no doubt these regulations are a step forward in the protection of workers and that they will further strengthen controls to reduce future potential deaths from asbestos disease."

 

The revised regulations will introduce the following changes:

  • single control limit of 0.1 fibres per cm 3 of air for work with all types of asbestos

  • specific mandatory training requirements for anyone liable to be exposed to asbestos

  • requirement to analyse the concentration of asbestos in the air with measurements in accordance with the 1997 World Health Organisation recommended method

  • practical guidelines for the determination of "sporadic and low intensity exposure" as required by the EU Directive

Most work with asbestos will still need to be undertaken by a licensed contractor but any decision on whether particular work is licensable will now be determined by the risk.

More details of what work is licensable, and the training necessary when working with asbestos containing materials, is detailed in the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) "Work with materials containing Asbestos".

 

Advice on managing asbestos in premises is in the "The Management of Asbestos in Non-Domestic Premises" ACoP.

 

Source: HSE
 


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