Management of Asbestos 

Survey Requirements Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002

The above Regulations have introduced a new and explicit duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. The duty is to manage and/or co-operate with whoever manages the risk from this material and applies to those who own, occupy, manage or have responsibilities for premises.

As part of this you are required to assess whether asbestos containing materials are present in your premises. In some instances this may require a survey to be carried out by an independent specialist contractor. However, this is not an absolute requirement but will depend on the nature of the premises and the size of the company.

For smaller organisations and new premises this may be carried out internally by a competent person using existing plans and/or knowledge. For example a premises built after 1985 is unlikely to contain much if any asbestos products. The leaflet "A Short Guide to Managing Asbestos in Premises" INDG223(rev3) outlines the main requirements and provides further references and is available free from HSE Books.

For further information and assistance look at the HSE website. This contains links to other organisations such as UKAS accredited laboratories and HSE licensed asbestos contractors. Unfortunately the Council do not keep current lists of approved contractors. The new duty requires that you keep a record of your assessment and must have been completed by the 21st May 2004 at the latest. Failure to comply with the deadline could result in formal action and may result in fines of up to £5000 per offence. The above does not negate your existing duties to prevent exposure of employees and others, such as contractors, to asbestos.

Asbestos Information Leaflet .