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May 2002 |
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SAVING LIVES |  Back to contents | |
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Asbestos-related deaths may not grab the national headlines, but the fact that around 3,000 preventable deaths per year are attributed to past exposure remains a sobering statistic. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has mounted a sustained campaign to encourage those responsible for managing asbestos in buildings to act now before the regulations are introduced later this year. The HSE anticipates that the new duty to manage will save around 4,000 lives in coming years. Every day thousands of building and maintenance workers such as electricians and cabling installers for fire alarms may unwittingly be dicing with death by disturbing building materials that include asbestos. Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) can be found in a whole range of buildings, including factories, offices, schools and hospitals. ACMs pose no risk to public health if they are in a good condition and are left undisturbed. The problems arise if ACMs are not properly managed and asbestos fibres are released into the environment. The effect on workers' health is not noticeable in the short-term but can lead to serious illness many years later and in some cases an unpleasant death. Workers exposed to asbestos in the building and maintenance trades in the 1970s, for instance, are only now being diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, due to the long latency period. It has been estimated that around one quarter of the UK's 3,000 annual deaths can be attributed to these trades.1 In October 2001, the HSE launched a five-year campaign asking those responsible for the management of premises to "recognise serious health risk, identify source and manage proactively such risks". The campaign has targeted around 1.5 million workplace properties that are believed to still contain asbestos, in addition to four million plus small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Local authorities will have a key role to play both as duty holders and as enforcers. In their enforcement capacity, local authorities have an important advisory role through inspection and a partnership role spreading the HSE's campaign message, so that duty holders will be better informed about what the regulations require of them. The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAW), governing all work with asbestos, were introduced in 1987. CAW was later amended in the Health and Safety Regulations 1998, to cover all those who are likely to be exposed to asbestos. These regulations placed a general duty on employers to prepare a risk assessment, to make written arrangements to protect those at risk and to maintain workplace buildings so that workers and occupants are protected from asbestos exposure. While in principle these measures provide a safeguard, the problem is that often duty holders cannot make a good assessment of the risk, as information on asbestos in the building is not always available. The new proposals amend the 1998 regulations by explaining how the work is to be done. A supporting Approved Code of Practice has also been proposed, offering advice on identifying asbestos, maintaining a plan of location and condition of asbestos, assessing risks, preparing a management plan and setting up suitable management systems to control asbestos.2 While the introduction of the regulations is proposed for later this year, the HSE has set aside an additional 18-month lead-in period for implementation, as few duty holders are expected to put into place all of the necessary measures required by the 2002 deadline. When the new duty to manage does finally come into force, local authorities will need to satisfy themselves that duty holders have identified where asbestos is located and taken the necessary measures to protect workers and the general public. According to Brian Trevette, asbestos campaign co-ordinator at the HSE, duty holders have two options when deciding if materials contain asbestos. Either they can assume that asbestos is present and bring in a surveyor to take a sample of materials for analysis or, alternatively they must provide evidence that proves conclusively that the material is not asbestos. The information gathered must then be noted down and "recorded in a form that ensures it gets to all those who will need it, including building and maintenance workers". The HSE has already issued several pieces of guidance, including MDHS 100, which sets out details for sampling and the assessment of ACMs. The guidance explains in great detail what a professional surveyor would be expected to do and also informs local authorities on what they should expect of that surveyor. The process appears simple enough, but some concerns have been raised. First, when duty holders are expected to note down where asbestos is on the premises, they will often need to produce their own plans as information on asbestos may not always be available. In the process of making such a plan, the HSE has suggested that duty holders can undertake a thorough visual survey of the entire premises, including external fittings, to locate and record where possible ACMs are located.3 While carrying out this type of survey, the duty holder should note down any ACMs that are labelled. In cases where the duty holder is not sure whether asbestos is present, or cannot gain access to the area, further action is required. This means carrying out a full survey where samples are taken from suspected areas. Christine Walker, technical officer for health and safety at Dacorum DC, says the visual survey is a useful place to start as it "gives the employer a good idea of whether to investigate further". However, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health expressed concern during the consultation process that most duty holders would "not have sufficient knowledge of ACMs to undertake a meaningful inspection". The CIEH added that a person undertaking the visual examination would require some experience of identifying ACMs if the examination were to be effective. Many commentators have also questioned the practicalities of undertaking a full survey. Mark Tasker, senior EHO in the asbestos unit at Manchester MBC, says that the number of competent and properly trained surveyors to carry out this kind of survey is limited. He estimates that if all duty holders undertook just one survey each, it could take about 10 years to cover all the work. Alan Conway, health and safety officer at the Corporation of London is also extremely doubtful that there will be enough trained people at the end of the 18-month lead-in time to carry out effective surveys. Another important area of concern is the accessibility of the information detailing where asbestos is located in the building, particularly to those who are likely to come into contact with it, such as building and maintenance workers. As Mr Tasker points out, "there is no point in registering the information if it is tucked away at the back of a filing cabinet. It needs to be widely available so that it can be referred to before any work is done". However, while it may seem common sense, information can be difficult to understand by others if written in an overly complicated way. To avoid unnecessary risk, duty holders should register all information clearly and in a readable format. Local authority enforcers can greatly assist in this by checking during inspections that the duty holder has complied. Properly managing the risks remains vital to protecting public safety. Material that is in a good condition and is unlikely to be damaged or disturbed will pose no risk and consequently should be left in place. The duty holder however, will still need to put into a place a management system, which ensures that the material is kept in a good state of repair and that it is not damaged or disturbed in the future. However, in cases where the asbestos material is in a poor condition, the duty holder may need to seal off the asbestos or remove it by calling in HSE-licensed contractors. In addition to the new regulation, the HSE is also proposing to amend the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations 1998. The amendment will clear up a long-standing confusion over regulatory responsibility and ultimately increase the involvement of local authorities in asbestos. These regulations allocate responsibility between the HSE and local authorities for enforcing the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 on a general basis for the main activities carried out in premises. However, in Schedule 2 of the regulations, which covers construction work carried out on insulation board in a physically segregated area of the premises, enforcement carried out in an enclosure is currently handled by the HSE even on premises enforced by local authorities. The new proposals will allow local authority enforcement officers to take formal action themselves if asbestos is identified, rather than call on HSE inspectors. The HSE meanwhile has set up a number of asbestos training courses to provide guidance to local authority officers. It has also produced additional materials to assist local authorities with their duties. As part of its five-year campaign, the HSE is in the process of developing a workshop pack to be used as a training tool for local authority employers due out in the next few months. The package contains details on the basic principles of how to manage the risk of asbestos and will also include a free video, How are you today?, and a free leaflet which gives basic advice on what the duty to manage requires. Local authorities are well placed to raise duty holders' awareness of asbestos risk in the workplace. Using their expertise and knowledge of asbestos, they can assist duty holders to take the necessary steps to manage proactively the potential risks. By doing so, thousands of lives will be saved from an unnecessary and unpleasant death. References
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