AsbestosFactsheet Asbestos - What is it?Asbestos is an insulating material which was widely used in the construction ofbuildings, both commercial and industrial, as well as housing, shipbuilding, andmachinery.

These are only a few of the industries and workplaces where asbestos may befound. In addition, schools and hospitals have also been found to contain asbestos.

Asbestos may be found in any building built before the year 2000 and lots ofbuildings still contain asbestos materials. If disturbed, the fibres pose a significantrisk to health, with many asbestos related diseases caused by exposure. By its nature, asbestos is not easily identifiable and is often referred to as the“Hidden Killer”.

Who is at risk?Those most likely to disturb asbestos include:• construction and demolition contractors, roofers, electricians, painters and

decorators, joiners, plumbers, gas fitters, plasterers, shop fitters, heating andventilation engineers, and surveyors;

• electronics: phone and information technology engineers, alarm installers;• General maintenance engineers and others who work on the

fabric of a building.

This list is in no way exhaustive.

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Wives, the parents, partners andchildren of workers in industries whereasbestos was prevalent have also beenexposed to asbestos through contactwith work clothing etc.

Schoolteachers and other workers inschools and hospitals have also beenput at risk, usually in older buildingswhere materials have been damagedleading to airborne asbestos particlesand subsequent exposure.

What is the risk?Disturbing asbestos could be fatal -Exposure to Asbestos dust can kill you.

It is the single biggest cause of workrelated deaths across the UK up to4000 per year dying as aconsequence.

Exposure to asbestos can causenumerous illnesses including:• Mesothelioma• Lung cancer• Asbestosis• Diffuse pleural thickening• Pleural Plaques

Before starting workAs a rule you should always askwhether an asbestos survey has been done.

Discuss the asbestos survey with thecompetent person on site anddetermine exactly what has beenchecked, what was found and whatareas were not surveyed and why.

Request sight of any relevant riskassessment before starting work.

Never rely on a block survey, insist thatthe area specific to your work ischecked.

There should also be an asbestosregister for the place of work, buildingsite, you should ask to see it.

If you are unsure about any area thatmay contain asbestos UCATT advisesthat you stop work and ask for thatarea to be checked.

The HSE admits that asbestos remainsin hundreds of thousands of buildingsacross the UK, and any UCATTmember or safety rep that believesasbestos is present on a job shouldSTOP work immediately and askeveryone to leave the area that may beaffected.

Where asbestos is present, you mayonly continue to work if you have hadasbestos training. By law, everyemployer must give adequate trainingto employees who may be exposed toasbestos.

If you are in any doubt about thesafety of the work you have beenasked to undertake, ask your UCATTrepresentative for advice.

You must stop work when:You discover or suspect that you havecome into contact materials that couldcontain asbestos.

If anyone finds unmarked material thatthey believe could contain asbestos,report this to the supervisor orcompetent person straight away.

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Do not, under any circumstances,attempt to remove any material thatis unmarked as this could causeparticles to be airborne resulting inexposure.

Employer DutiesEvery employer in the building andconstruction industry has a legal obliga-tion to provide training to those whoare likely to be exposed to asbestos.

In April 2012 the Control of AsbestosRegulations 2012 came into force,regulation 4 of the Control of AsbestosRegulations 2012 requires the person(ie the “dutyholder”) to:• take reasonable steps to find out if

there are materials containingasbestos in non-domestic premises,and if so, its amount, where it is andwhat condition it is in;

• presume materials contain asbestosunless there is strong evidence thatthey do not;

• make, and keep up-to-date, arecord of the location and conditionof the asbestos containing materials- or materials which are presumedto contain asbestos;

• assess the risk of anyone beingexposed to fibres from the materialsidentified;

• prepare a plan that sets out in detailhow the risks from these materialswill be managed;

• take the necessary steps to put theplan into action;

• periodically review and monitor theplan and the arrangements to act onit so that the plan remains relevantand up-to-date; and

• Provide information (Asbestosregister) on the location and conditionof the materials to anyone who isliable to work on or disturb them.

Licensed workRegulation 8 of the Control ofAsbestos Regulations 2012 requires anemployer /contractor to be licensed bythe HSE when working with asbestos.This means that this work must becarried out by those contractors thatcarry an Asbestos Removal Licenseand workers are specifically trained.

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Non- Licensed WorkRegulation 3 (2) of the control ofasbestos regulations 2012 designatescircumstances where licenses are notrequired these include:• Work where the exposure is

sporadic and of low intensity; • Work where exposure is unlikely to

exceed the control limit;• Short non continuous maintenance

activities;• Removal of materials in good

condition;• Sealed in appropriate bags etc;• Encapsulations or sealing asbestos

which are in good condition;• Air monitoring and control and

collection of suspect asbestossamples for testing;

By April 2015, all workers/selfemployed doing notifiable non-licensedwork with asbestos must be underhealth surveillance by a doctor.

For non-licensed removal of asbestosUCATT members should follow thesame process as they would beforestarting any work, and should also askto see the Risk Assessment for thework area.

UCATT Head OfficeUCATT House, 177 Abbeville Road, Clapham, London SW4 9RLTelephone: 020 7622 2442 www: www.ucatt.org.uk email: info@ucatt.org.uk

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