Henderson Environmental supports HSE’s ‘Asbestos – Your Duty’ campaign
In January 2024, the national regulator for workplace health and safety, HSE, launched a new campaign to reach those with building management responsibilities and raise awareness of their legal duties to manage asbestos.
What is the aim of the campaign?
HSE’s asbestos campaign is focused on buildings that people use in their daily lives, such as multi-occupancy domestic properties, museums, hospitals, workplaces, factories, places of worship and schools.
While asbestos was banned over 25 years ago, buildings constructed before the turn of the century, when asbestos was heavily used in construction, will likely contain asbestos and will need to be carefully managed by the designated dutyholder.
Who is responsible for managing asbestos in a building?
The HSE has detailed guidance on who is responsible for managing asbestos in a building. This could be the:
- The owner of the building
- The landlord
- The person or organisation that is responsible for the building’s maintenance or repair
It is the dutyholder’s legal responsibility to protect people from the risks of asbestos exposure. If asbestos is properly contained, it does not pose a risk. Asbestos becomes dangerous when disturbed or damaged. The people who need to be protected include:
- Those who work in the building in question
- Those who use the building for other purposes
Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, it is the dutyholder’s responsibility to ensure the asbestos risk stays as low as possible. The regulations stipulate that the duty holder should:
- Find out if the premises do contain asbestos, and if so, keep an up-to-date record of where the asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are and what condition they are in
- If in doubt, presume that materials do contain asbestos, unless there are good reasons not to do so
- Conduct a management survey/risk assessment to determine the level of risk that the ACMs pose
- Make an asbestos management plan and act on it
It is important that the dutyholder is competent and has undergone suitable training to comply with their legal duties.
How can Henderson Environmental help?
With over 40 years of experience in the industry, we are a CHAS-accredited, ARCA-approved and HSE-licensed asbestos removal company based in the North East of England.
We have been safely removing and encapsulating asbestos in residential, commercial and industrial buildings throughout the UK since 1984.
We are committed to supporting building managers in minimising risk and keeping users safe, cultivating a culture of effective asbestos management.
If you are responsible for a building that contains asbestos, and an asbestos survey has been carried out and specifies that removal or encapsulation is required, our team can provide a safe and cost-effective solution.
Contact us for support.
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