Duty Holders Are You Compliant?

Jan 23, 2023
2 min read

Is the building you are responsible for safe & compliant? Any building built prior to the year 2000 must have an asbestos inspection to locate any ACM's within the building.

Duty To Manage Asbestos CAR 2012

The duty to manage asbestos is directed at those who manage non-domestic premises: the people with responsibility for protecting others who work in such premises, or use them in other ways, from the risks to ill health that exposure to asbestos causes.

What Is The Duty?

he duty to manage asbestos is contained in regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. It requires the person who has the duty (ie the 'dutyholder') to:

take reasonable steps to find out if there are materials containing asbestos in non-domestic premises, and if so, its amount, where it is and what condition it is in
presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not
make, and keep up-to-date, a record of the location and condition of the asbestos- containing materials - or materials which are presumed to contain asbestos
assess the risk of anyone being exposed to fibres from the materials identified
prepare a plan that sets out in detail how the risks from these materials will be managed
take the necessary steps to put the plan into action
periodically review and monitor the plan and the arrangements to act on it so that the plan remains relevant and up-to-date
provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them

There is also a requirement on others to co-operate as far as is necessary to allow the dutyholder to comply with the above requirements.

How Do Duty Holders Comply?

There are four essential steps:

find out whether the premises contains asbestos, and, if so, where it is and what condition it is in. If in doubt, materials must be presumed to contain asbestos
assess the risk from asbestos present in the premises
make a plan to manage that risk and act on it
provide this information to other employers (eg building contractors) who are likely to disturb any asbestos present, so that they can put in place appropriate control while the work is being done.

Here are some basic principles to consider when managing asbestos:

asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed. If it is safely managed and contained, it doesn't present a health hazard
don't remove asbestos unnecessarily - removing it can be more dangerous than leaving it in place and managing it
not all asbestos materials present the same risk. The measures that need to be taken for controlling the risks from materials such as pipe insulation are different from those needed in relation to asbestos cement
if you are unsure about whether certain materials contain asbestos, you should presume they do and treat them as such
remember that the duty to manage is all about putting in place the practical steps necessary to protect maintenance workers and others from the risk of exposure to asbestos fibres - it is not about removing all asbestos