Asbestos attracts particular attention because it has had such a devastating effect for so many people.
There are three common types
1. White (chrysotile),
2. Brown (amosite)
3. Blue (crocidolite)
People working directly with asbestos are clearly at risk, but the main problem is that it has had many applications in the past, and this leads to exposure to others for many years after. Typical uses included:
* Pipe lagging;
* Ceiling tiles;
* Roof and wall sheeting (asbestos cement);
* Coatings sprayed on to steel structures to provide fire insulation;
* Thermal insulation in lofts and walls;
* Gaskets.
Illnesses caused by asbestos inhalation include
* Pneumoconiosis;
* Asthma;
* Asbestosis;
* Mesothelioma;
* Lung cancer.
Asbestos is covered by the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2006. They create a duty on employers if workers are likely to come into contact with asbestos based materials or if there is asbestos based material in the workplace.
A suitable and sufficient assessment of the presence and type of asbestos is required prior to commencement of work. Where there is doubt it should be assumed that asbestos is present and that all the applicable provisions of the regulations apply. Anyone likely to be exposed to asbestos at work requires training. Where asbestos is found in the workplace a decision needs to be made about whether it needs to be removed or made safe whilst leaving it is position (i.e. encapsulated). Most activities involving asbestos must be performed by companies licensed to do so, although there are some exceptions, the most notable being work with textured decorative coatings such as Artex, although precautions are still required.
There are two Approved Codes of Practice
* L143 “Work with materials containing asbestos” - Gives an in-depth look at the Regulations
* L127 “The management of asbestos in non-domestic premises” - Deals with how to manage asbestos.
Friday, November 23, 2007
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007
CDM regulations apply to most common building, civil engineering and engineering construction work. They require clients of construction work to make reasonable arrangements for managing projects (including the allocation of sufficient time and other resources) so that:
1. Work can be carried out without risk to the health and safety of any person,
2. The welfare of people working on the construction site is addressed (e.g. providing sanitary and washing facilities, drinking water etc.)
3. Any structures designed for use as a workplace have been designed taking account of the provisions of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
Under the regulations the client has a duty to appoint certain roles (listed below). They must take reasonable steps to ensure only competent people are appointed or engaged; and any person taking on a role must only do so if they are competent. The client must:
• Appoint a CDM co-ordinator – required to give suitable and sufficient advice and assistance to the client, ensuring suitable arrangements for the co-ordination of health and safety measures during the project, collating and providing health and safety information, liaising with the principal contractor, and notifying the HSE where required;
• Appoint a principal contractor – responsible for co-ordinating health and safety aspects during the construction phase;
• Ensure that the CDM co-ordinator is provided with health and safety information about the premises or site where construction work is to be carried out.
Appointments need to be made in a timely manner so that there is time to develop suitable health and safety plans before construction begins. Everyone involved in the project must seek the co-operation of, and co-operate with others working on the project. Also, any person working under the control of another person has to report anything they are aware that is likely to endanger the health or safety of themselves or others.
Every person involved in design, planning and preparation of a project must take account of the general principles of prevention of accidents and ill health.
For the purposes of these Regulations, a project is notifiable to the Health and Safety Executive if it is not for a domestic client (in which case there is no requirement for notification) and the construction phase is likely to involve more than 30 days or 500 person days of construction work.
A health and safety file must be developed that contains information relating to the project which is likely to be needed during any construction work, and future maintenance or modification. The file is passed on to the client at the end of the project. It should include any of the following where appropriate:
• ‘Record’ or ‘as built’ drawings and plans used and produced throughout the construction process;
• The design criteria;
• General details of the construction methods and materials used;
• Details of the equipment and maintenance facilities within the structure;
• Maintenance procedures and requirements for the structure;
• Manuals produced by specialist contractors and suppliers which outline operating maintenance procedures and schedules for plant and equipment installed as part of the structure;
• Location and nature of utilities and services, including emergency and fire-fighting systems.
The client must be given the safety file at the end of the project and take reasonable steps to ensure that it is kept available for inspection by those considering future construction work.
Reference – The regulations are available free
CDM regulations apply to most common building, civil engineering and engineering construction work. They require clients of construction work to make reasonable arrangements for managing projects (including the allocation of sufficient time and other resources) so that:
1. Work can be carried out without risk to the health and safety of any person,
2. The welfare of people working on the construction site is addressed (e.g. providing sanitary and washing facilities, drinking water etc.)
3. Any structures designed for use as a workplace have been designed taking account of the provisions of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
Under the regulations the client has a duty to appoint certain roles (listed below). They must take reasonable steps to ensure only competent people are appointed or engaged; and any person taking on a role must only do so if they are competent. The client must:
• Appoint a CDM co-ordinator – required to give suitable and sufficient advice and assistance to the client, ensuring suitable arrangements for the co-ordination of health and safety measures during the project, collating and providing health and safety information, liaising with the principal contractor, and notifying the HSE where required;
• Appoint a principal contractor – responsible for co-ordinating health and safety aspects during the construction phase;
• Ensure that the CDM co-ordinator is provided with health and safety information about the premises or site where construction work is to be carried out.
Appointments need to be made in a timely manner so that there is time to develop suitable health and safety plans before construction begins. Everyone involved in the project must seek the co-operation of, and co-operate with others working on the project. Also, any person working under the control of another person has to report anything they are aware that is likely to endanger the health or safety of themselves or others.
Every person involved in design, planning and preparation of a project must take account of the general principles of prevention of accidents and ill health.
For the purposes of these Regulations, a project is notifiable to the Health and Safety Executive if it is not for a domestic client (in which case there is no requirement for notification) and the construction phase is likely to involve more than 30 days or 500 person days of construction work.
A health and safety file must be developed that contains information relating to the project which is likely to be needed during any construction work, and future maintenance or modification. The file is passed on to the client at the end of the project. It should include any of the following where appropriate:
• ‘Record’ or ‘as built’ drawings and plans used and produced throughout the construction process;
• The design criteria;
• General details of the construction methods and materials used;
• Details of the equipment and maintenance facilities within the structure;
• Maintenance procedures and requirements for the structure;
• Manuals produced by specialist contractors and suppliers which outline operating maintenance procedures and schedules for plant and equipment installed as part of the structure;
• Location and nature of utilities and services, including emergency and fire-fighting systems.
The client must be given the safety file at the end of the project and take reasonable steps to ensure that it is kept available for inspection by those considering future construction work.
Reference – The regulations are available free
Update - corporate manslaughter
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 is due to come into force on 6 April 2008. It will mean that companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter if its activities are managed or organised by its senior managers in such a way that
1. causes a person’s death, and
2. amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased.
The offence will be Corporate Manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Corporate Homicide in Scotland.
The introduction of the act will make organisations liable for Corporate Manslaughter if a fatality results from the way in which its activities are managed or organised. This approach is not confined to a particular level of management within an organisation. The test considers how an activity was managed within the organisation as a whole. However, it will not be possible to convict an organisation unless a substantial part of the organisation’s failure lay at a senior management level.
Corporate manslaughter will continue to be an extremely serious offence, reserved for the very worst cases of corporate mismanagement leading to death. The offence is concerned with the way in which an organisation’s activities were managed or organised. Under this test, courts will look at management systems and practices across the organisation, and whether an adequate standard of care was applied to the fatal activity. Juries will be required to consider the extent to which an organisation was in breach of health and safety requirements, and how serious those failings were. They will also be able to consider wider cultural issues within the organisation, such as attitudes or practices that tolerated health and safety breaches.
The threshold for the offence is gross negligence. The way in which activities were managed or organised must have fallen far below what could reasonably have been expected.
More information is available at the Ministry of Justice website
1. causes a person’s death, and
2. amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased.
The offence will be Corporate Manslaughter in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Corporate Homicide in Scotland.
The introduction of the act will make organisations liable for Corporate Manslaughter if a fatality results from the way in which its activities are managed or organised. This approach is not confined to a particular level of management within an organisation. The test considers how an activity was managed within the organisation as a whole. However, it will not be possible to convict an organisation unless a substantial part of the organisation’s failure lay at a senior management level.
Corporate manslaughter will continue to be an extremely serious offence, reserved for the very worst cases of corporate mismanagement leading to death. The offence is concerned with the way in which an organisation’s activities were managed or organised. Under this test, courts will look at management systems and practices across the organisation, and whether an adequate standard of care was applied to the fatal activity. Juries will be required to consider the extent to which an organisation was in breach of health and safety requirements, and how serious those failings were. They will also be able to consider wider cultural issues within the organisation, such as attitudes or practices that tolerated health and safety breaches.
The threshold for the offence is gross negligence. The way in which activities were managed or organised must have fallen far below what could reasonably have been expected.
More information is available at the Ministry of Justice website
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