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ABOUT US
INTRODUCTION
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been used for about 150 years on a large commercial scale. It is versatile, plentiful and ideal as a fire proofing and insulation material. Unfortunately it can also be deadly.
Asbestos related diseases (mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer) are thought to kill at least 3,000 people a year, with this figure expected to rise to 10,000 by 2011. But those dying during that period will have already inhaled a fatal dose of asbestos fibres. It can take anywhere from 15 to 60 years after first exposure before the development of these fatal diseases, and these deaths arise from exposures many years ago when asbestos was less well controlled, and was in much wider use than today.
These figures are a clear sign of what happens when such a risk is not managed. Unless the risks from asbestos in buildings are managed effectively today we will not be free from the misery and suffering that asbestos-related diseases cause in the future.
THE DUTY TO MANAGE
The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 introduces an explicit duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. This important legislation tackles the biggest occupational health killer in the UK – asbestos-related disease. Of the 3,000 people currently dying each year from such diseases 25% have once worked in the building and maintenance trades and often would have worked unknowingly on or near to asbestos containing materials (ACMs).
The duty to manage requires those in control of premises to:
take reasonable steps to determine the location and condition of materials likely to contain asbestos;
make and keep an up to date record of the location and condition of the ACMs or presumed ACMs in the premises;
prepare a plan setting out how the risks from the materials are to be managed;
review and monitor the plan periodically; and
presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not;
assess the risk of the likelihood of anyone being exposed to fibres from these materials;
take the necessary steps to put the plan into action;
provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them.
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We can provide you with a comprehensive asbestos survey, asbestos report, asbestos risk assessment and asbestos register to ensure your company complies fully with current regulations.