 Advice on what to do:
Duty to manage asbestos in premises
Whoever is responsible for maintaining all or part of business premises must also manage asbestos in the premises.
Depending on the terms of the lease, this could be the tenant, landlord or managing agent. In the event that maintenance responsibilities aren't clearly specified, the legal duty rests with the party which has the greatest degree of control over the premises.
If you hold this legal duty, you must:
- 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.
- 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.
- Make sure that material is analysed for asbestos content
in accordance with ISO17025, which sets standards for both
quality management and technical requirements in laboratories.
Remember that even if you aren't legally responsible for managing asbestos risks in your premises, you have a duty to co-operate with the party who is.
Tenants, for example, must allow the landlord or managing agent access to the premises to conduct inspections. If the tenant has the responsibility, a landlord must disclose relevant information to both current and new tenants.
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Around 3,500 people die each year from asbestos related disease in the UK.
