We have reported on many incidents relating to Asbestos Management and the risks involved with work that surrounds asbestos. There are protocols and processes to be followed if you suspect that asbestos may be involved in any refurbishment or building work.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has been fined following exposure to employees and contractors of asbestos at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Their employees were removing fixtures and fittings from an empty flat at the hospital when they disturbed asbestos containing materials (ACMs).
The Trust were fined because they failed to put in place adequate measures to manage asbestos risks. Plans had been put in place, but the overall management plan for dealing with asbestos was not recorded in a clear and concise manner or effectively communicated to all employees and contractors. The Trust had ‘insufficient auditing procedures’ to ensure policies were being followed.
The Trust were fined £16,000 following pleading guilty to two breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. They were also ordered to pay costs of £18,385.80.
As stated in the Department for Education’s “Managing Asbestos in School”, schools should have the following in place, but all organisations would do well to follow this five step process:
- Have a ‘management survey’ of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs)
- Assess the risks associated with ACMs
- Devise a plan for managing asbestos
- Make sure staff, visitors and contractors know the risks and precautions they need to take
- Keep the management of asbestos under review
To be aware there are some key areas to consider where asbestos may be present:
- Asbestos Insulating Board (AIB) in walls, ceilings, windows and door surrounds and structural columns
- Asbestos cement in external roofing, tiling, flues and windows
- Pipework insulation in heating systems
- Asbestos insulation and cement in heaters, freezers and as pre-formed pipe and column insulation
- Loose asbestos materials in storage heaters, kilns and roof insulation
- Asbestos cloth, rope and yarns
- Paper floor underlay and ceiling panels
- Bitumen and mastics sink pads, floor adhesive, roofing felt and damp proof course
- Reinforced plastic floor tiles, window sills, stairs, toilet seats
- Sprayed asbestos on walls, ceilings and structural columns
- Textured coating ceilings and walls
The following asbestos-containing articles should also no longer be present in schools:
- Ironing board stands, heat mats, display boards and blackboards
- Millboard mats, ironing board stands and panels
- Asbestos cloth oven gloves, seals and fire blankets
- Asbestos Cement
Further guidance about managing asbestos in schools can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asbestos-management-in-schools–2
For organisations there is guidance on the HSE website http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/managing/intro.htm.
If you need help with asbestos management, asbestos surveys, testing and sampling, please get in touch. We can also arrange UKATA Approved Asbestos Awareness Training if needed. Our partner who delivers this support holds the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) P402 Certificates of Competence for Building Surveys and Bulk Sampling of Asbestos and all survey procedures comply with BS EN ISO/IEC 17020. Analytical techniques comply with BS EN ISO/IEC 17025 and the systems used are certified to BS ENISO 9001.
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