Asbestos
What is Asbestos?
A common form of magnesium silicate used in various building and insulation products due to its stability and resistance to fire.
It has been proven that inhaling loose asbestos fibres can cause lung cancer and various other forms of lung disease.
Asbestos removal or encapsulation (by law) must be carried out by a licensed professional.
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New regulations to manage health risks associated with asbestos in the workplace come into force from May 21st 2004.
As a result of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 new legal duties have been put in place to manage asbestos in non- domestic premises and the common areas of residential premises. "Common areas" would typically include hallways, stairwells, lift shafts and roof spaces.
The changes are intended to help protect building and maintenance workers who may breathe in harmful asbestos fibres when carrying out work.
Responsibility
The responsibility to manage the presence of asbestos belongs to those supervising the maintenance and repair of the property, or to those in control of the building.
For example this could be the occupier or the owner of a building and, under the terms of the act, such people or organisations are known as the 'dutyholder'. Anyone with control over, or information about, a building is obliged to co-operate with the dutyholder.
For instance, a landlord with relevant information about the fabric of a building must pass this on to new tenants, and leaseholders must allow access for inspection by managing agents.
THE DUTYHOLDER
The Dutyholder must:
- Establish if asbestos containing materials (ACMs) are present in the building and what condition it is in.
- Assess the risk of damage / fibre release.
- Create a detailed action plan to manage the risk.
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According to the RICS and ARMA Ringley as a Managing Agent is the duty holder over communal areas.
The responsibility however remains with the landlord who has a legal duty to allow the dutyholder to carry out an asbestos audit. The end result is a report.
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Components of the Asbestos Report
- Desktop exercise to identify likelihood
- Agree a strategy/scenario of probability depending on the age of the building, etc.
- Research other experts etc, who have worked on the building.
- Inspect target areas.
- Identify asbestos (blue, brown, white and cement based).
- Send samples for testing at a laboratory.
- Write up a strategy.
- End product including drawings identifying the type of asbestos position and risk.
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