Asbestos Awareness

While it is not illegal, it is STRONGLY recommended you don’t test for or dispose of asbestos yourself. You need to have the right qualification to be able to remove asbestos safely.

You need to report it to the relevant authorities to get it tested. If it comes back positive for asbestos, you will need to arrange for extraction of it. But if it comes back negative then it will require no action.

Regulation 4 of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 states: Every employer shall ensure that suitable personal protective equipment is provided to his employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work.’ Asbestos supplies a significant risk to health so PPE should be worn when handling it. Should I do a risk assessment on an area of asbestos? Before asbestos is operated on or extracted, a risk assessment should be carried out to assess the risk of exposure, and then if there is a high risk, it should try to be reduced.

Regulation 8 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, requires an employer to have a license to be able to begin licensable work with asbestos. This means that an employer will need a license when undertaking higher-risk work as stated by HSE

If you think you have been exposed to asbestos then it is a good idea to go visit your GP as it is better to be safe than sorry! Not everyone who comes into contact with asbestos will get a serious illness from it, but if you are experiencing symptoms like coughing, chest pains, and shortness of breath then you should go to your GP. They will ask you questions about where you have worked, where you are living, and various others. If you then find out that you have inhaled asbestos, you will need to arrange the relevant checks and removal of asbestos wherever the source is

If an employer is not providing PPE, it goes against the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. It is advised that you try to sort the problem with your employer out first informally. But this means that you can report them to HSE should they not be complying with legislation.

If your house was built before 1980 then it is likely to have asbestos in it. But asbestos is only harmful if it is broken or disturbed in some way. If your house was built after 1980, then it should not have any asbestos in it. It ceased to be used in 1999 in the UK

Yes, you are not allowed to sell (or give away free of charge) any items containing asbestos in the UK