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Rob Blackburn - SAFE Training explores the impact of the recent EU ruling on working with asbestos and the implications for UK Facilities Managers
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Rob Blackburn - SAFE Training explores the impact of the recent EU ruling on working with asbestos and the implications for UK Facilities Managers
In February the UK was passed a note called a 'reasoned opinion' from the EU. The note had taken nigh on five years to reach its intended recipient [the UK government] and alluded to a failure to implement the minimum standards of the Asbestos Worker Protection Directive (AWPD) in 2006.
The effect that this note will have will be with us considerably faster than it took to write, and reach, its destination. The HSE have just announced a timetable of under a year.
Current UK Regulation
The changes centre on the exemption from doing the following:
There are four exemptions - repeated below - but only the first two are affected:
(i) short, non-continuous maintenance activities,
(ii) removal of materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix,
(iii) encapsulation or sealing of asbestos-containing materials which are in good condition, or
(iv) air monitoring and control, and the collection and analysis of samples to ascertain whether a specific material contains asbestos.
The effect of the UK Regulations is that asbestos products are split into 'licensed' [high risk] and 'non-licensed' [lower risk] work.
Working within the Facilities Management sector these are the exemptions that allow safe handling and work on lower risk asbestos products without using a licensed contractor - asbestos cement, gaskets, artex, maintenance of lights attached to asbestos panels etc. To give an idea of scale, the HSE estimate that 1.3m people work with [and are exposed] to asbestos in a year but only 9,000 of these are currently under medical surveillance.
EU Asbestos Worker Protection Directive
The EU Directive only permits these exemptions (notification, medicals etc) if the work is:
(a) short, non-continuous maintenance activities in which only non-friable materials are handled;
(b) removal without deterioration of non-degraded materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix;
it is the words in bold italics that will be inserted into the UK regulations
As a result, when the HSE bring the UK regulations up to the standard of the AWPD we are likely to see many companies have to embark on a process of putting their staff under medical surveillance, recording all exposures and notifying the enforcing authority when ever such work is carried out; on top of which all of these records will then have to be retained for a period of forty years.
We will also see an extra category of asbestos product (the middle one):
| Licensable products | covering high risk asbestos products (exemptions do not apply) |
| Non-licensable, notifiable | lower risk products (exemptions will not apply) |
| Non-licensable, non-notifiable | lowest risk products (exemptions will apply) |
A quick look at some of the tasks that FM companies carry out on a regular basis which may be affected are:
(i) gasket removal
(ii) asbestos insulation board panels less than 1m2
(iii) any work on asbestos cement where it may be degraded or broken during removal
(iv) removal of textured decorative coatings
(v) working with arc shields/fuse guards
The exact nature of the changes will not be known until later this year but while the changes will increase protection for workers it will undoubtedly bring an extra headache to the administrative and operating functions of building maintenance.
When we have detail of the specific changes we will be producing a guide on the options available and how to integrate them with minimal upheaval.
SAFE Training specialises in providing courses with clear objectives focused on the delegates. As part of our bespoke range we can tailor courses to include Asbestos Management Plan procedures and personnel that a company operates under or specific site rules and processes in operation on more complex sites.
SAFE Training provides regulatory training courses to businesses and their employees throughout the UK. With a nationwide network of training centres, we have the experience, expertise and resources to satisfy the most demanding of training objectives.
Asbestos Training Courses include:
Other Training Courses include:
For more information on our training courses call 0845 519 5250 or email: info@safe-training.org
Contact Information
Kirstie Colledge
SMPR
18 Generator Hall
Electric Wharf
Coventry
CV1 4JL
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