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Proposals For Revised Asbestos Regulations And An Approved Code Of Practice & EDM 1224
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) has published a consultative document seeking comments on proposed amendments to its asbestos regulations and an Approved Code of Practice (ACoP).
The proposed changes will implement revisions to the EU Asbestos Worker Protection Directive 83/477/EEC in Great Britain. The draft regulations include a single, tighter control limit for work with all types of asbestos; specific training requirements for those working with asbestos; and a clear hierarchy of controls that should be used to reduce exposure, based on the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (Amendment) Regulations 2004 (COSHH). The proposed regulations suggest a single, lower tightened Control limit.
HSC is taking this opportunity to simplify and rationalise the legislative regime by combining the three sets of current asbestos regulations - on controls, licensing and prohibitions - into one. It is also proposing to align the criteria for notifying the enforcing authority of work with asbestos with the requirement to have an HSE asbestos licence. They will therefore repeal and replace with a single set of regulations The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002, The Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983, as amended and The Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992 (Prohibitions Regulations), as amended.
The new regulations will adopt a risk-based approach to licensing, reflecting risk criteria in the directive. Certain types of work where exposure to asbestos will only be 'sporadic and low intensity' and below the control limit will not need to be done by a licensed contractor. HSC will provide authoritative guidance on the types of work that will be exempt from licensing in the draft ACoP.
HSE state that a key element of their work to reduce asbestos exposure is the 'duty to manage', that came into force on 21 May 2004 as part of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 (CAWR). The duty is based on the principles of assessing and managing risk to protect workers and members of the public. It requires duty holders to find out whether their premises contain or may contain asbestos, to assess the risk from such materials, and take action to manage that risk.
Although asbestos is no longer imported or used, there is still cause for concern. It is estimated that about half a million non-domestic premises contain some form of asbestos. HSE continues to improve standards of protection for around 9,000 asbestos removal workers in the licensed sector and the 1.3 million repair and maintenance workers who may be exposed including CWU members employed as BT Engineers and Romec Engineers. The proposed regulatory package provides a stronger and better targeted regulatory framework.
The conclusions are that generally the changes are positive and helpful and would lead to greater clarity within the regulations. However, there are some areas of concern in particular the proposal that textured decorative coatings (Artex) be removed from the current licensing regime which is being opposed by the TUC and Construction Unions in particular. The TUC broadly welcomes the other parts of the proposals but feels that further research on the health risks from the removal of textured coating is required as the HSE's conclusions are based on questionable research findings. The TUC UHSS Committee expressed broad concern over anything which might be seen as a reduction in the level of enforcement or inspection.
In practice, most work that currently needs to be done under licence will remain licensable. However HSC claim that on the basis of their new research, work on textured decorative coatings containing asbestos, will not need to be done by a licensed contractor as Asbestos exposure levels from these materials are much lower than they previously thought: estimated to be 1000 times less than that for other licensable materials, and lower than that from work with asbestos cement which presently doesn't require a licence. HSC is not saying that work with asbestos containing textured coatings is safe and it still needs proper control measures. All work with asbestos, whether or not it needs to be done under licence, must be done by competent people with the appropriate controls. The HSE has based its proposals on a limited study of the removal of textured coatings carried out by licensed contractors under the current controlled conditions. However, no research has been carried out to assess the level of risk that would result under the new, relaxed and unsupervised conditions for removal. This research is therefore felt to be inadequate since it is based on the controlled removal of these coatings, whereas the new regime will mean removal in an uncontrolled environment. Asbestos removal experts, contractors and trade unions have united to express their concern about the increased risk to workers and families that will arise from this cost cutting. The HSE study was carried out in conjunction with the Association of British Insurers (ABI), whose primary concern will be to protect the interests of its membership as opposed to those of homeowners and workers. Textured coatings containing asbestos can currently be found in homes, schools and businesses across the UK. By removing the duty to supervise and enforce standards relating to the removal of textured coatings, the HSE has found a way to reduce its workload which may be putting the public and workers at risk.
As agreed by the NEC HS&E Committee I will be drawing up and submitting a response to the Consultative Document in line with the above prior to the closing date of 31 January 2006.
An Early Day Motion (EDM 1224) entitled "Proposed Change To The Control Of Asbestos At Work Regulations" has been submitted by Michael Clapham MP on 07.12.2005. It reads:
"That this House expresses concern that the new Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006 will drop textured coatings from the list of materials that only licensed contractors are approved to remove; is further concerned that the Health and Safety Executive has arrived at this proposal without a proper evaluation of the risk associated with the material; believes that allowing unlicensed contractors to remove these materials will put workers, home owners and families at risk; and calls for the proposal and research methodology to be reviewed."
CWU Supported MPs have been requested to give their support to the EDM.
All enquiries should be addressed to Dave Joyce, CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer quoting reference No. NS40.