If your building predates 2000, asbestos is your problem to manage.
Asbestos was banned in UK construction years ago, but it didn't leave the buildings it was already in. Thousands of tonnes are still out there, in roofs, ceilings, pipework, insulation and cement, and you can't tell it's there by looking. If you're an employer or you control premises built or refurbished before 2000, the law makes managing that asbestos your responsibility.
You're in safe hands, and here's the proof.
A group of natural minerals, and the danger is in the fibres.
Asbestos is the name for a group of naturally occurring fibrous minerals. Three types were commonly used in industry, and you can't identify them by colour, because processing and mixing changes their appearance. Blue and brown asbestos were banned in the UK in 1985, white asbestos in 1999, with a total ban from 1 January 2005.
Chrysotile (white), amosite (brown) and crocidolite (blue). Blue and brown were banned in 1985, white in 1999, with a total ban from 1 January 2005. Colour tells you nothing once it's been processed.
Breathe the fibres in over time and they can cause fatal diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, often decades after exposure.
Asbestos-related disease still kills around 5,000 people a year in the UK. This is not a historical problem. It's a live one for any older building.
The most dangerous materials and the most innocent-looking ones sit side by side.
Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are only a risk when fibres are released into the air. Intact, undisturbed material that can't easily be damaged generally won't release fibres. The risk comes when it's disturbed, by drilling, cutting, breaking or general deterioration. Some materials are far more dangerous than others, and the trap is that they can be found together in the same building.
Regulation 4 of CAR 2012. Seven things the duty holder must do.
The duty to manage asbestos sits in Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012). If you're the duty holder, typically the employer or whoever's responsible for maintaining the building, here is what the law requires.
"I didn't know it was there" is no defence if you never surveyed.
Mismanage asbestos and you put employees, contractors and the public at risk of fatal disease. You also expose yourself to action you may never recover from. The HSE enforces this duty actively.
Employees, contractors and the public exposed to fibres that can cause fatal disease decades later. This is the cost that matters most, and the one that can't be undone.
Significant fines, the cost of remediation, and criminal and civil liability. The HSE enforces the duty to manage actively, and ignorance is not a defence.
Damage to a business's reputation that it may never recover from. Get the basics in place first and that risk all but disappears.
Common asbestos questions
What is the duty to manage asbestos?
Does my building need an asbestos survey?
How can I protect employees from asbestos exposure?
Who is responsible for asbestos in a leased building?
How often should an asbestos survey be reviewed?
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