working with asbestos – the impact of the eu ruling for uk facilities managers

8/6/2019 Working with Asbestos the impact of the EU Ruling for UK Facilities Managers

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Working with Asbestos the impact of the EU Ruling

for UK Facilities Managers

Rob Blackburn SAFE Training explores the impact of the recent EU ruling on working with

asbestos and the implications for UK Facilities Managers

In February the UK waspassed a note called a reasoned opinion from the EU. The note had

taken nigh on five years to reach its intended recipient[the UK government] and alluded to a

failure to implement the minimum standards of the Asbestos Worker Protection Directive

(AWPD) in 2006.

The effect that this note will have will be with us considerably faster than it took to write,

and reach, its destination. The HSE have just announced a timetable of under a year.

Current UK Regulation

The changes centre on the exemption from doing the following:

1. notification of work on asbestos to the enforcing authority;2. medical surveillance of workers every two years; and3. retention of medical records and exposure records for a period of 40 years from

last exposure.

There are four exemptions repeated below - but only the first two are affected:


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(i) short, non-continuous maintenance activities,(ii) removal of materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix,(iii) encapsulation or sealing of asbestos-containing materials which are in good

condition, or

(iv) air monitoring and control, and the collection and analysis of samples toascertain whether a specific material contains asbestos.

The effect of the UK Regulations is that asbestos products are split into licensed [high risk]

and non-licensed [lower risk] work.

Working within the Facilities Management sector these are the exemptions that allow safe

handling and work on lower risk asbestos products without using a licensed contractor

asbestos cement, gaskets, artex, maintenance of lights attached to asbestos panelsetc. Togive an idea of scale, the HSE estimate that 1.3m people work with [and are exposed] to

asbestos in a year but only 9,000 of these are currently under medical surveillance.

EU Asbestos Worker Protection Directive

The EU Directive only permits these exemptions (notification, medicals etc) if the work is:

(a)

short, non-continuous maintenance activities in which only non-friablematerials are handled;

(b) removal without deterioration of non-degradedmaterials in which theasbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix;

it is the words in bold italics that will be inserted into the UK regulations

As a result, when the HSE bring the UK regulations up to the standard of the AWPD we are

likely to see many companies have to embark on a process of putting their staff under

medical surveillance, recording all exposures and notifying the enforcing authority when

ever such work is carried out; on top of which all of these records will then have to be

retained for a period of forty years.

We will also see an extra categoryof asbestos product(the middle one):


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Licensable products covering high risk asbestos products

(exemptions do not apply)

Non-licensable, notifiable lower risk products (exemptions will not

apply)

Non-licensable, non-notifiable lowest risk products (exemptions will apply)

A quick look at some of the tasks that FM companies carry out on a regular basis which may

be affected are:

(i) gasket removal(ii) asbestos insulation board panels less than 1m2(iii) any work on asbestos cement where it may be degraded or broken during

removal

(iv) removal of textured decorative coatings(v) working with arc shields/fuse guards

The exact nature of the changes will not be known until later this year but while the changes

will increase protection for workers it will undoubtedly bring an extra headache to the

administrative and operating functions of building maintenance.

When we have detail of the specific changes we will be producing a guide on the options

available and how to integrate them with minimal upheaval.

www.safe-training.org

SAFE Training specialises in providing courses with clear objectives focused on the delegates.

As part of our bespoke range we can tailor courses to include Asbestos Management Plan

procedures and personnel that a company operates under or specific site rules and

processes in operation on more complex sites.


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SAFE Training provides regulatory training courses to businesses and their employees

throughout the UK. With a nationwide network of training centres, we have the experience,

expertise and resources to satisfy the most demanding of training objectives.

Asbestos Training Courses include:

y Asbestos Awareness Trainingy Asbestos Management Trainingy Non Licensed Asbestos Training

Other Training Courses include:

y Legionella Awareness Training Coursesy

Fire Safety Training Coursesy Environmental Awareness Training Courses

For more information on our training courses call 0845 519 5250 or email: info@safe-

training.org

working with asbestos – the impact of the eu ruling for uk facilities managers

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