Asbestos is a dangerous substance commonly used in construction up until 1999, when it was banned for use in the UK. If disturbed, asbestos fibres can cause life-threatening disease and continue to be attributed to thousands of deaths each year.
Property owners have a legal duty to ensure either the safe containment of asbestos in situ, or to arrange for its safe removal. The regulations apply to the common parts of domestic premises and to the entirety of commercial buildings.
Here we’ll be focussing on how asbestos should be managed with regard to commercial buildings; explaining who is ultimately responsible, and what is expected of them within the confines of the law.F
Who is the Dutyholder?
For all non-residential buildings, a dutyholder must be identified. This applies to public spaces such as hospitals and schools, as well as private premises such as factories and offices.
The person responsible will most likely be the building owner, the landlord, or the person or organisation appointed to maintain the building on their behalf. In some cases, the duty may be shared- it depends on the tenancy agreement or contract in place.
If multiple leaseholders occupy the same building, the landlord may assume full responsibility. Alternatively, the leaseholders may be responsible for their units while the landlord takes responsibility for the common areas. If a managing agent is contracted, they may well take on the role of dutyholder from a practical sense, but the legal responsibility cannot be passed to them.
For public buildings, the dutyholder will be whoever is charged with maintenance of the building. For hospitals and local authority-managed schools, this will be the employer (the local authority). For voluntary-aided and foundation schools, it will be the school governors, and for academy/free schools, the trust will be the dutyholder. For independent/fee-paying schools, it may be the proprietor, governors or trustees.
If there’s no contract or agreement in place, or if the details are unclear, the duty will fall to whoever has control of the property- most likely the owner.
Creating a Management Plan
Dutyholders are obligated to create and maintain a site-specific asbestos management plan. This should include:
- Details of who is responsible for managing asbestos, including any deputies
- Your asbestos register (including the site plan showing the location of asbestos-containing materials and areas not yet inspected)
- A schedule for monitoring the condition of asbestos-containing materials
- Details of how you will share your asbestos register with workers or contractors doing maintenance work
- Control arrangements to ensure that asbestos-containing materials are not disturbed
- Emergency procedures to be followed if asbestos-containing materials are disturbed
Your plan should be updated whenever any works take place that affect your ACMs, if management responsibilities change, if any ACMs are disturbed by accident, and following any surveys.
The plan should be shared with building managers, employees, contractors and maintenance workers. There are different rules for how the plan should be shared- you can read more on the Health & Safety Executive website, here.
Checking for Asbestos
Any properties built or refurbished before the year 2000 are likely to contain asbestos. If your building was built after 2000 but contains equipment or machinery from pre-2000, these may well contain asbestos and should be carefully checked.
“You must identify all asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) present in the building that could be damaged or disturbed during normal occupancy. This should include routine and foreseeable maintenance and cleaning activities.” Health & Safety Executive
Your first step should be to check the records of the building, which may identify any ACMs present at the time of writing. If there is a pre-existing asbestos register in place for the building, you should make sure the information is entirely up to date.
People who have worked in or on the building in the past have a legal duty to consult with you on request. This includes workers and safety personnel, previous owners and tenants, facility managers, suppliers, architects, builders and designers. They may be able to shed light on the status of ACMs in the building.
Ultimately, a professional asbestos management survey will provide you with all the information you need to be able to safely manage any asbestos in the building and to ensure your ongoing compliance. Due diligence is a must, so ensure you hire an experienced, professional firm to conduct your survey.
Creating an Asbestos Register
A key part of your asbestos management plan will be to create an asbestos register, largely informed by the results of your survey. This is a live document that tracks the location and condition of any ACMs, or presumed ACMs, in the building.
As well as your risk assessment and the basic information covering locations, condition, inspection dates, the likelihood of disturbance and particular asbestos types, it can be very helpful to also include the following:
- Photographs to help confirm the location and condition
- Necessary actions and due dates
- Evidence of those actions being completed and when
- Condition assessment due dates
Your register should be updated annually as well as before any planned works to the property.
Asbestos is a very real threat to the health and safety of anyone occupying or visiting commercial buildings. There are of course legal penalties for non-compliance, but moral obligation should be enough of an incentive.
The safe containment or removal of asbestos should be taken very seriously and be handled by consummate professionals in tandem with accurate, diligent record-keeping by dutyholders.
If you need any assistance or further information, please feel free to contact our friendly, knowledgeable team.
