Asbestos

Commercial Premises

The HSE have a ‘one-stop-shop’ website for asbestos enquires which will provide comprehensive guidance for you

Guidance on the disposing of cement-bonded asbestos products from commercial premises and by builders etc. is found on the on the Dorset For You website.  Sprayed asbestos, lagging and insulation boards must be removed by a licensed asbestos contractor.

Asbestos was used extensively as a building material from the 1950s and some asbestos cement products were used up to 1999.  It is the biggest occupational health killer, responsible for 3,500 deaths a year.  Although these deaths are from past exposure (when asbestos was widely used and not regulated) it is important to protect workers now.  

The trades which are now vulnerable include heating and ventilation engineers, electricians, plumbers, general maintenance, cable layers, alarm installers etc.  Any worker who is unaware of the presence of asbestos may disturbs it cause the release of asbestos fibres which are then breathed in to their lungs.  

The Control of Asbestos at Works Regulations 2002 (CAWR) introduce an explicit duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises.

The duty to manage requires those in control of premises to:

• take reasonable steps to determine the location and condition of materials likely to contain asbestos;
• presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not;
• make and keep an up to date record of the locations and condition of the asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) or presumed ACMs in the premises;
• assess the risk of the likelihood of anyone being exposed to fibres from these materials;
• prepare a plan setting out how the risks from the materials are to be managed;
• take the necessary steps to put the plan into action;
• review and monitor the plan periodically; and
• provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is likable to work on or disturb them.

Disposal household asbestos

Only cement-bonded asbestos products can be disposed of by the householders.  Small quantities of household asbestos waste can be accepted on several recycling centres. Information on these sites and the disposal procedure can be found on the Dorset For You website.

Guidance on asbestos in the home can be found on www.direct.gov.uk