Asbestos and the Law

What it Means to you:

Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2006; Regulation 4 duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. Regulation 4 came into force in May 2004 and covers all non-domestic premises, whatever type of business is carried out in them. It also covers the common areas of multiple domestic premises such as blocks of flats or housing developments, including boiler houses, halls, stairwells, lift shafts and roof spaces etc.

The regulations require the dutyholder to:

Take reasonable steps to determine the location and condition of materials likely to contain asbestos;

Presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not;

Make and keep an up-to-date record of the location and condition of the asbestos containing materials (ACMs) or presumed ACMs in the premises;

Assess the risk of the likelihood of anyone being exposed to fibres from these materials;

Prepare a plan setting out how the risks from the materials are to be managed;

Take the necessary steps to put the plan into action;

Review and monitor the plan periodically;

Provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them.

The dutyholder may well be the landlord, tenant or a managing agent, depending on the circumstances of the case.

In some situations, responsibility could be shared between two or more parties. All those who have responsibility for the maintenance and/or repair of non-domestic premises have duties under this regulation. The extent of the legal duty is determined by the terms of any tenancy agreement or contract that applies, and in the absence of any such agreement, on the degree of control the party has over the premises. The regulation also includes a duty to co-operate. This will, for example, require a tenant to allow a landlord to gain access to a building to carry out a survey.

As the dutyholder you are required to plan a compliance strategy.

This should include: Deciding what type of inspection/ survey is appropriate;

Identifying who should carry out the work, and who should manage the whole process;

Determining priorities in terms of which buildings or parts of buildings must be tackled first;

Deciding how information is to be recorded/ retrieved and in what form;

Considering how maintenance activities will be controlled to warn those at risk and control exposure to asbestos;

Deciding who should review the arrangements and how often.

We at Eton Environmental Services would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding these regulations.