Asbestos: Your Duty

Any buildings that people use in their daily lives, such as workplaces, schools and hospitals are the focus of a new campaign to keep people safe from asbestos.

Asbestos: Your Duty, which was launched in January, aims to improve understanding of what the legal duty to manage asbestos involves.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) wants anyone with responsibilities for buildings to do everything they must do to comply with the law and prevent exposure to this dangerous substance, which was widely used in post-war construction before it was completely banned in 1999.  Asbestos may still be present in buildings built before 2000.

HSE will check how asbestos is managed when visiting a range of buildings – like schools and hospitals – requiring those responsible for managing asbestos risks to ensure they have the right arrangements in place.

The legal duty to manage asbestos covers a wide range of buildings such as museums, schools, hospitals, and places of worship, as well as workplaces like offices and factories.

Businesses and organisations responsible for premises built before the turn of the century, and especially those between 1950 and 1980 when the use of asbestos in construction was at its peak, must carry out the necessary checks and understand their legal responsibilities.

People who visit or work in these buildings will not be exposed if asbestos is properly contained. But it can become dangerous when disturbed or damaged.

If you require any help understanding your legal duties – or just need to refresh yourself on what you need to do, please contact Spectra where an experienced Consultant will be happy to help.

We can provide Asbestos Awareness training either on our E Learning site www.spectratrainingsolutions.co.uk or we can provide more detailed Face to Face training if needed.

Our Consultants can carry out Asbestos Surveys and reviews to help you manage any Asbestos present in your buildings.