Recent news reports have been featuring the story of a 66 year old Sutton lady who lost her husband to mesothelioma in July 2009. Monica Haxton’s husband was an electrician who contracted the incurable lung cancer when he was exposed to asbestos dust while dismantling boilers.
A recent news report revealed that Glasgow local authority’s own internal auditors have warned that failure to keep comprehensive records has led to them being unsure that all premises have been checked for the material. Even more shocking is the revelation that watchdogs consider that the policy on how asbestos is managed in Glasgow is more than a decade out of date!
An astonishing news report this week tells the story of the CEO of a furniture company who exposed his Rochdale factory employees to potentially lethal asbestos for more than five years. It appears that this irresponsible business owner neglected to carry out asbestos checks at the factory, despite Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 that requires him to carry out these checks as the duty holder. More than a dozen employees were exposed to the potentially deadly asbestos, many of whom were members of h
The recent floods in the UK resulted in damage and destruction in so many areas. Heavy and persistent rainfall combined with high tides that saw so many of our seaside towns suffering an insurge of sea water that has not been seen in living memory. The seaside town where I grew up didn’t escape the storms and videos posted on both Facebook and YouTube amazed local people with the ferocity of the sea.
The use of asbestos and asbestos containing materials (ACMs) was totally banned in the UK in the year 2000. However, that was less than fifteen years ago and this doesn’t mean that asbestos is no longer causing a problem. Asbestos was commonly used in the building industry in the UK until then and, as many of us know, most of the buildings in the UK were built before the date of the ban. This means that the majority of buildings in the UK are likely to contain asbestos or ACMs somewhere in the construction. Even buildings that were constructed well before the use of asbestos became comm
These are the responsibilities that apply to the dutyholder in non-domestic premises
WHAT IS THE DUTY?
Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 requires the dutyholder to do the following:
We’re all familiar nowadays with the fact that asbestos is a dangerous substance but, surprisingly, it was not totally banned in the UK until 1999. While blue and brown asbestos materials were banned outright in 1985, the import, sale and second hand reuse of white asbestos was still legal until the total ban in 1999. Before this date, asbestos was widely used in the UK for decades, indeed it was extolled as an excellent insulating material.
Asbestos is still causing problems all over the UK, despite a total ban on the use of asbestos containing materials of all types in 1999. The UK government and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in particular has campaigned hard to raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos in order to prevent a new generation getting caught in the unforgiving net of this insidious substance.
To begin with we need an explanation of exactly what an asbestos survey is. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), describes an asbestos survey as an “effective way to help manage asbestos in your premises by providing accurate information about the location, amount and type of any asbestos containing materials (ACMs)”.
First of all, a quick explanation of exactly what an asbestos survey is. According to the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an asbestos survey is an “effective way to help manage asbestos in your premises by providing accurate information about the location, amount and type of any asbestos containing materials (ACMs)”.