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HSG 264 Asbestos: The Survey Guide
The long awaited new guidance from HSE entitled HSG 264 Asbestos: The Survey Guide was published on 29 January 2010.
This publication replaces and expands on MDHS100, surveying, sampling and assessment of asbestos-containing materials. It is aimed at people carrying out asbestos surveys and people with specific responsibilities for managing asbestos in non-domestic premises under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
Over the next few weeks, we will be updating our procedures and making any changes necessary to ensure that we are compliant with the new guidance.
Lead Hazards
A report, “Dangerous Lead”, by researchers at Stirling University has claimed that tens of thousands of workers are at risk of kidney and heart disease, brain damage, cancer and other serious disorders at the UK’s “safe” workplace lead exposure limit.
The current UK limits are set by the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002. The recommended action levels are 50 micrograms (µg) of lead per 100ml of blood for men and 25µg/100ml for women. Suspensions from work with lead are required if the levels reach 60µg/100ml and 30µg/100ml respectively.
The report claims that recent evidence has revealed workers are at risk of hypertension, kidney and brain damage, reproductive harm and cancer at levels as low as and possibly lower than 10µg/100ml.
Unpublished internal figures from the HSE reveal that around 5000 workers are known to have blood lead levels below the UK action thresholds but above 10µg/100ml and could be suffering lead-related ill health.
The report points out that INDG305 Lead and You, the HSE’s main guidance for workers, greatly under-estimated the health risks.
The HSE has removed the guidance from its website, but a spokesman for HSE said “The wording of the lead safety leaflet was due to be reviewed in the light of the latest scientific research. We do not have evidence that there is a widespread problem of employers failing in their duty to protect workers from exposure to lead. But where we discover that employers are failing in this duty we can and will take enforcement action.”
Standards for PPE revised
The Health and Safety Executive / Local Authority Enforcement Liaison Committee (HELA) has recently revised its local authority circular (LAC) containing advice regarding standards for personal protective equipment (PPE).
In recent years there has been a continued increase in the number of harmonised standards for PPE produced to support the European Directive, which was implemented in the UK as the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2002.
The regulations are predominantly enforced by trading standards officers, although some aspects are enforced by HSE. Almost all PPE for use at work is marked according to the coding rules of the relevant standards.
The newly revised circular, LAC68/8, contains appendices that set out a summary of all the currently available PPE standards, grouped under the headings of:
- head protection
- hearing protection
- eye and face protection
- respiratory protective equipment
- hands and arms protection
- foot and leg protection
- clothing
- buoyancy, immersion and diving suits
- fall arrest protection.
The HSE asbestos awareness campaign re-launches on 2 November 2009
According to HSE figures, asbestos-related disease accounts for around 4,000 deaths a year, the biggest single cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain.
More people die as a result of exposure to asbestos than in road accidents.
The Hidden Killer asbestos campaign was launched in October 2008 following a regional pilot in the North West. The campaign succeeded in raising awareness of asbestos risks - 8 out of 10 tradesmen were aware of the adverts and 71 % said they had or planned to take further precautions.
To keep the messages hitting home, HSE is running a similar campaign this year. It will aim to help tradesmen and maintenance workers know when they might be working with asbestos and what they can do to protect themselves.
Council and Contractor Fined after Asbestos Disturbed
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned property owners to ensure that they keep accurate records of asbestos in their buildings and pass any information on to contractors.
The warning follows a serious incident in which contracted workers as well as members of the public were exposed to airborne asbestos fibres as a result of refurbishment work in council properties in Fraser Avenue, Inverkeithing in November 2007.
At Dunfermline Sheriff Court on 9 July 2009, Fife Council was fined £10,000 after pleading guilty to a charge under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
The contractor, ECG Building Maintenance Ltd was fined £3,700 after pleading guilty to charges under sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
Fife Council contracted ECG Building Maintenance Ltd to replace water storage tanks within the communal loft areas of properties in Fraser Avenue and adjoining areas. Some of these tanks were insulated with asbestos.
ECG Building Maintenance Ltd were not licensed by HSE to remove asbestos nor were they competent to do the work. Their workers had not been adequately trained so did not recognise the presence of asbestos, or the risks posed by it. They also failed to implement established control measures to minimise the exposure to themselves as well as to other people in the vicinity.
UKAS Accreditation Renewed until 2013
Following on from the recent reassessment visit by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to Amencon Limited, we are pleased to announce that we have received confirmation of the renewal of our accreditation to ISO 17020 for surveying for asbestos in domestic, industrial and commercial premises until 30 September 2013.
Amencon were one of the first organisations to gain this accreditation in 2001 which provides clients with confidence that an organisation is competent to carry out the complex task of surveying premises for the presence of asbestos-containing materials. The Health & Safety Executive recommend that dutyholders should use a UKAS accredited surveyor as part of the management of asbestos in buildings required under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
IARC affirms there is sufficient evidence for asbestos to be classified as a known human carcinogen
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently reaffirmed that there is sufficient evidence for asbestos to be classified as a known human carcinogen (i.e. Group 1). All commercial forms of asbestos, including chrysotile (white asbestos), cause lung cancer and mesothelioma.
The IARC also concluded that there is “sufficient” evidence that asbestos causes laryngeal cancer and, perhaps surprisingly, ovarian cancer. They also found that there was “limited” evidence that asbestos exposure causes cancers of the pharynx, stomach and gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, with the evidence for an association between asbestos exposure and GI cancer being the strongest.
Mesothelioma usually develops between 20 and 50 years after exposure to asbestos first took place. This explains why the occurrence of the disease has been steadily rising in Britain over the last 20 years (the current annual total has now reached more than 2,000 deaths), since the peak use of amosite (brown asbestos) and crocidolite (blue asbestos) in Britain occurred during and after the Second World War.
According to another paper published by scientists at the Health and Safety Executive, asbestos-related lung cancer probably causes 2–3% of all lung cancer deaths in males in Britain, approximately one asbestos-related lung cancer death for each mesothelioma that is diagnosed.
For further information on asbestos awareness training click here.
HSE warning about exposing untrained workers to asbestos
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning that electrical contracting companies and other building and refurbishment trades must provide suitable asbestos awareness training to employees or face prosecution.
This move follows the HSE prosecution of a contractor in West Bromwich for failing to ensure that adequate information, instruction and training was given to its employees.
The court heard that an electrician employed by the contractor installed three heat detectors and associated cabling in a kitchen and boiler room of premises in Smethwick. Although the ceiling tiles contained amosite (brown asbestos), no asbestos awareness training was given by his employer prior to commencement of the work, despite a legal requirement.
The electrical contractor was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £2,757 in costs, by West Bromwich Magistrates for breaching Regulation 10(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
Electricians, plasterers, plumbers and carpenters are all at risk of exposure to asbestos in buildings erected or refurbished before the year 2000 and across the whole of the West Midlands Region one person dies a painful death every three days from mesothelioma and these deaths are almost exclusively people who have previously been exposed to asbestos.
The number of asbestos-related workplace deaths exceeds the figure of deaths in road accidents but many workers, particularly tradesmen, think that they are not personally at risk of exposure to asbestos or the diseases it can cause. They think that since asbestos was banned many years ago, the problem has been dealt with and therefore it is not relevant to them. The reality is very different.
Exposure to asbestos is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths, with around 4,000 people a year dying from asbestos-related disease. The overall number of deaths is rising because a large number of workers who have already been exposed to asbestos dust around 40 years ago will go on to develop mesothelioma, a terminal cancer or other asbestos related diseases.
Today asbestos still presents a real and relevant risk to plumbers, joiners, electricians and many other maintenance workers as it may be present in any building constructed or refurbished before the year 2000. It is estimated that around 500,000 non-domestic buildings could contain asbestos and these buildings all need repair and maintenance work from time to time but when the asbestos fibres are disturbed, for example by drilling or cutting, they are likely to be inhaled as a deadly dust.
For further information on asbestos awareness training click here.
New Penalties for Health & Safety Offences
The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 comes into force on 16 January 2009. The Act introduces additional penalties for both employers and employees who are found guilty of health and safety offences. Although the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 remains the key statute for outlining the duties of employers and employees, the new Act allows greater sanctions to be imposed in both the Magistrates’ and the Crown Courts.
This Act marks a new era in health and safety whereby ANY individual within a business, from the shop-floor to the boardroom, can now be sent to prison for breaches of health and safety law. A custodial sentence will now be a possible sanction for many health and safety offences where previously only a fine could have been imposed. Even relatively minor offences tried in the Magistrates’ Court could now result in a £20,000 fine and up to 12 months imprisonment. If the breach is deemed serious enough to be tried in the Crown Court, many offences will now carry an unlimited fine and individuals could face up to two years imprisonment.
Importantly, any employee who has failed to take reasonable care of the health and safety of himself or other persons or any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the business who has consented or connived to a health and safety offence or which has been caused by his neglect, can now be imprisoned.
Asbestos Test Case Ruling
Victims of asbestos-related cancer and their families have won an important test case over access to compensation.
Six individual cases were brought against several insurance companies which were disputing whether they were liable.
The hearing hinged on which policy was key – the one in place at the time of exposure or the one when a worker becomes ill.
A group of insurers had questioned which policy should be enacted. They argued during the nine-week hearing that the policy in place at the time the cancer develops was the one that a compensation claim should be brought against rather than the policy that was in place when the worker was employed by the firm.
The insurers said this was common-sense as victims could have worked for several employers where they were exposed to asbestos. However, solicitors representing the families involved in the case said this would make it harder to secure compensation.
Compensation claims for asbestos-related disease are expected to cost insurers millions of pounds in the future as cases dating back to the 1970s come to light.
Asbestos - The Hidden Killer
Every week 20 tradesmen die from asbestos-related disease. Anyone carrying out work on a building that was built or refurbished before the year 2000 could have been exposed to asbestos without even knowing it.
To highlight the dangers to electricians, plumbers, joiners, plasterers, heating and ventilation engineers and other tradesmen, the Health and Safety Executive has launched a campaign to raise awareness with radio, press and poster advertisements together with a website at www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/hiddenkiller
Amencon offers a range of asbestos awareness training courses and other services to assist employers and property owners achieve compliance with the Regulations and protect workers.
For further information, please contact us.
Man Fined £44,000 for Unlicensed Removal of Asbestos
The Health and Safety Executive is urging people to ensure that they use licensed companies to remove asbestos insulation board or asbestos lagging.
Robert McCart, a Director of two Eastbourne-based companies was fined a total of £44,000 after pleading guilty to breaching seven regulations under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. He was also disqualified from being a Director for four years.
The offences related to work done to remove asbestos insulation board from shop premises without the required licence for work with asbestos and without notifying the HSE.
Mr McCart failed to carry out the appropriate precautions and left a sack containing broken pieces of asbestos insulation board outside the shop, and asbestos debris inside the property.
His actions put members of the public at risk of exposure to potentially lethal asbestos fibres.
HSE Inspector, Amanda Huff, said ‘Robert McCart deliberately ignored the law for financial gain. Mr McCart was aware of the dangers associated with asbestos and yet decided to risk not only his own life but also members of the public.’
Asbestos Information for the Emergency Services
Information on the location and condition of any known or presumed asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in premises must be made available to the emergency services under Regulation 4(9) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
The fire services in particular need to be made aware that ACMs are in the premises so that they can take the appropriate precautions in an emergency.
The importance of this was highlighted by the recent experience of one of our clients who suffered a fire in a disused building on one of their sites in the North-West.
On their arrival at the burning building, the Fire Service classified the call as a major incident because of the likelihood of ACMs being present in such premises.
The officer in charge requested a copy of the asbestos register for the site - a copy of the Amencon Limited asbestos survey report for the premises was readily available from the factory manager.
Based upon the information in the survey report, the Fire Service downgraded the scale of the incident and dealt with the fire promptly.
It is pleasing to record that the Fire Officer was extremely complimentary to our client about the clarity and quality of the asbestos survey report that we had prepared for the site.
HSE Reminder about Asbestos Surveys
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reminds the building trade that failure to carry out checks and surveys for asbestos in property refurbishments is unacceptable.
This warning follows the successful prosecution by HSE of a building surveyor who failed to meet his legal duties and carry out an asbestos survey during a refurbishment at 92-95 Livery Street, Birmingham.
Raymond Joseph Boyle of Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, was convicted of a breach of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 by undertaking demolition work that exposed people to asbestos. He was fined £4,000 in total and ordered to pay costs of £4016 at Birmingham Magistrates Court.
Speaking after the case, HSE inspector Karl Raw said:
"This successful prosecution is a timely reminder that even with simple refurbishments there are legal duties needed to protect workers and others from the threat of asbestos. As a building surveyor with many years experience Mr Boyle should have been aware of his duty to manage the asbestos risk in a non-domestic property."
UKAS Accreditation Maintained
Following on from the recent annual surveillance visit by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to Amencon Limited, we are pleased to announce that we have received confirmation of the maintenance of our accreditation to ISO 17020 for surveying for asbestos in domestic, industrial and commercial premises.
In their report, UKAS commented that “The assessment team have been impressed with the improvements put into place since the last surveillance visit. The Quality System has seen further development and is operating effectively in support of the organisations activities in compliance with ISO 17020, regulatory and UKAS requirements. The few minor improvement actions raised is a reflection of the competency of the organisation in its performance of accredited activities and delivery of value to its clients.
The staff performing the surveys have demonstrated a high degree of technical competence and commitment to the quality system.”
Amencon were one of the first organisations to gain this accreditation in 2001 which provides clients with confidence that an organisation is competent to carry out the complex task of surveying premises for the presence of asbestos-containing materials. The Health & Safety Executive recommend that dutyholders should use a UKAS accredited surveyor as part of the management of asbestos in buildings required under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.
Action Mesothelioma Day - February 27th 2008
February 27th has been designated as Action Mesothelioma Day by the British Lung Foundation and supporting organisations. Up to 5,000 people die of asbestos related disease in the UK each year - more than the number of people who die in road accidents. Exposure to asbestos is Britain's biggest workplace killer.
Mesothelioma is often thought of as a disease limited to those who worked in heavy industries like shipbuilding, the railways and engineering. However mesothelioma can affect anyone and often strikes those working as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, painters, gas fitters, roofers or construction workers.
Asbestos containing materials are present in hundreds of thousands of buildings and uncontrolled disturbance can result in exposure to asbestos fibres.
Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 requires employers to provide asbestos awareness training to their employees who may come into contact with asbestos during the normal course of their work.
Amencon offer a range of asbestos awareness training courses and other services to assist employers and property owners achieve compliance with the Regulations.
For further information, please contact us.
New from Amencon in 2007
First Aid courses for the workplace are available at specified venues
or in house to suit customer requirements.
The first courses to be scheduled
will be the Emergency First Aid for the Workplace.
These will be followed
during the course of the year with the full First Aid at Work and Re-qualification
courses.
Work with materials containing asbestos
The HSE Code of Practice for work with materials containing asbestos requires that asbestos awareness training is given to employees whose work could foreseeably expose them to asbestos. In particular, it should be given to all demolition workers and those in the refurbishment, maintenance and allied building trades. Details of asbestos awareness training courses provided by Amencon Limited are now included on the website.
Type 3 Asbestos Survey for Powertrain
Amencon Limited has been appointed to carry out a Type 3 asbestos survey of the former Powertrain site at Longbridge in Birmingham. The survey was commissioned as part of the project to redevelop the site.
The work follows on from a Type 2 asbestos survey that was carried out in 2004 on behalf of Powertrain Limited in order to develop an asbestos management plan for the premises.
Revised asbestos regulations to come in to force on 13 November 2006
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, which were laid in Parliament on 27th October 2006, will come into force on 13 November 2006. The revised regulations will strengthen overall worker protection by reducing exposure limits and introducing mandatory training for work with asbestos. They will also simplify the regulatory regime and implement revisions to the EU Asbestos Worker Protection Directive.
Commenting on the revised regulations, Minister for health and safety, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath said: “These new provisions will help prevent around 6,500 occupational deaths from exposures to asbestos over the next 50 years. There is no doubt these regulations are a step forward in the protection of workers and that they will further strengthen controls to reduce future potential deaths from asbestos disease.”
The revised regulations will introduce the following changes:
- single control limit of 0.1 fibres per cm 3 of air for work with all types of asbestos;
- specific mandatory training requirements for anyone liable to be exposed to asbestos;
- requirement to analyse the concentration of asbestos in the air with measurements in accordance with the 1997 World Health Organisation recommended method;
- practical guidelines for the determination of “sporadic and low intensity exposure” as required by the EU Directive; and
- replace three existing sets of Asbestos Regulations.
Most work with asbestos will still need to be undertaken by a licensed contractor but any decision on whether particular work is licensable will now be determined by the risk
More details of what work is licensable, what training is necessary and how to undertake work with asbestos containing materials can be found in the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) “Work with materials containing Asbestos”. Further guidance on the duty to manage asbestos in premises can be found in the “The Management of Asbestos in Non-Domestic Premises” ACoP. The revised regulations and two ACoPs providing guidance on complying with the Regulations will be published on 13 th November.
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