Who is responsible for asbestos safety in buildings?

Anyone with responsibility for a building containing asbestos has a 'duty to manage' the asbestos, under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (CAR).

The CAR establish a new “control limit” of exposure to asbestos – 0.1 fibres per cubic centimetre (f/cm3) of air measured over four hours for all types of asbestos (Regulation 2). This is a single lower limit applying to all types of asbestos – rather than different (and higher) limits for chrysotile and other types of asbestos. The regulations also establish a lower peak short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 0.6 f/cm3 in the air measured over a 10 minute period. 

The CAR include a 'duty to manage asbestos’ in non-domestic premises. The person with duty to manage asbestos is called the “duty-holder”.

Under Regulation 4 of the CAR, any duty holder is required to take particular steps to comply with the law. They must:

• Ensure a suitable and sufficient risk assessment is carried out to check for the presence of asbestos.
• Check the condition of materials likely to contain asbestos.
• Take account of building plans and any other relevant information, including the age of the building.
• Inspect the workplace to find out whether asbestos is present.
• Where the assessment shows that asbestos is liable to be present, assess the risks it presents.
• Prepare a written plan identifying where asbestos is liable to be present and keep it under review.
• Identify the steps that are to be taken to manage the risks identified in the plan.
• Monitor the condition of any asbestos or any substances suspected of containing asbestos.
• Ensure any asbestos is properly maintained, or where necessary, safely removed.
• Ensure information about the location and condition of any asbestos is provided to every person liable to disturb it and made available to the emergency services.

In support of the duty to manage asbestos, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published an Approved Code of Practice, The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises, together with other guidance.

The regulations do not cover domestic premises. Nevertheless, your employer has a duty to carry out a risk assessment that takes into account exposure to asbestos.