Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 2739 The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 © Crown Copyright 2006 Statutory Instruments printed from this website are printed under the superintendence and authority of the Controller of HMSO being the Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament. The legislation contained on this web site is subject to Crown Copyright protection. STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS 2006 No. 2739 HEALTH AND SAFETY The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006   Made 12th October 2006     Laid before Parliament 20th October 2006     Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1 CONTENTS PART 1 PRELIMINARY 1. Citation and Commencement 2. Interpretation 3. Application of these Regulations PART 2 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 4. Duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises 5. Identification of the presence of asbestos 6. Assessment of work which exposes employees to asbestos 7. Plans of work 8. Licensing of work with asbestos 9. Notification of work with asbestos 10. Information, instruction and training 11. Prevention or reduction of exposure to asbestos 12. Use of control measures etc. 13. Maintenance of control measures etc. 14. Provision and cleaning of protective clothing 15. Arrangements to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies 16. Duty to prevent or reduce the spread of asbestos 17. Cleanliness of premises and plant 18. Designated Areas 19. Air Monitoring 20. Standards for air testing and site clearance certification 21. Standards for analysis 22. Health records and medical surveillance 23. Washing and changing facilities 24. Storage, distribution and labelling of raw asbestos and asbestos waste PART 3 PROHIBITIONS AND RELATED PROVISIONS 25. Interpretation of prohibitions 26. Prohibitions of exposure to asbestos 27. Prohibition of the importation of asbestos 28. Prohibition of the supply of asbestos 29. Prohibition of the use of asbestos 30. Labelling of products containing asbestos 31. Additional provisions in the case of exceptions and exemptions PART 4 MISCELLANEOUS 32. Exemption certificates 33. Exemptions relating to the Ministry of Defence 34. Extension outside Great Britain 35. Existing licences and exemption certificates 36. Revocations, amendments and savings 37. Defence   SCHEDULE 1— PARTICULARS TO BE INCLUDED IN A NOTIFICATION   SCHEDULE 2— THE LABELLING OF RAW ASBESTOS, ASBESTOS WASTE AND PRODUCTS CONTAINING ASBESTOS   SCHEDULE 3— EXCEPTIONS TO THE PROHIBITIONS ON THE IMPORTATION, SUPPLY AND USE OF CHRYSOTILE   SCHEDULE 4— REVOCATIONS   SCHEDULE 5— AMENDMENTS The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 15(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6)(b), (9), 18(2), 80(1) and 82(3) of, and paragraphs 1(1) to (4), 2, 3(2), 4, 6, 8 to 11, 13(1) and (3), 14, 15(1), 16 and 20 of Schedule 3 to, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974[1] ("the 1974 Act") and section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 ("the 1972 Act") [2].      In doing so he gives effect without modifications to proposals submitted to him by the Health and Safety Commission under section 11(2)(d) of the 1974 Act after the carrying out by the Commission of consultations in accordance with section 50(3) of that Act, and it appearing expedient to him after consulting such bodies as appear to him to be appropriate in accordance with section 80(4) of that Act.      He is a Minister designated for the purpose of section 2(2) of the 1972 Act in relation to the regulation and control of classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances and preparations[3], and persistent organic pollutants, dangerous substances, preparations and chemicals[4]. PART 1 PRELIMINARY Citation and Commencement      5] and the provisions of the Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority for Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems) Regulations 2006[6]; "the Executive" means the Health and Safety Executive; "ISO 17020" means European Standard EN ISO/IEC 17020, "General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection" as revised or reissued from time to time and accepted by the Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique (CEN/CENELEC)[7]; "ISO 17025" means European Standard EN ISO/IEC 17025, "General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories" as revised or reissued from time to time and accepted by the Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique (CEN/CENELEC)[8]; "medical examination" includes any laboratory tests and X-rays that a relevant doctor may require; "personal protective equipment" means all equipment (including clothing) which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects that person against one or more risks to his health, and any addition or accessory designed to meet that objective; "relevant doctor" means an appointed doctor or an employment medical adviser; "risk assessment" means the assessment of risk required by regulation 6(1)(a); "the 1997 WHO recommended method" means the publication "Determination of airborne fibre concentrations. A recommended method, by phase-contrast optical microscopy (membrane filter method)", WHO (World Health Organisation), Geneva 1997[9].     (2) For the purposes of these Regulations, except in accordance with regulation 11(3) and (5), in determining whether an employee is exposed to asbestos or whether the extent of such exposure exceeds the control limit, no account shall be taken of respiratory protective equipment which, for the time being, is being worn by that employee.     (3) A reference to work with asbestos in these Regulations shall include— (a) work which consists of the removal, repair or disturbance of asbestos or materials containing asbestos; (b) work which is ancillary to such work; and (c) supervision of such work and such ancillary work. Application of these Regulations      10], or in Scotland to a relevant authority within the meaning of section 6 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005[11], in respect of premises attended by its employees for the purpose of fighting a fire or in an emergency; or (b) to the employer of persons who attend a ship in dock premises for the purpose of fighting a fire or in an emergency, in respect of any ship so attended, and for the purposes of this paragraph "ship" includes all vessels and hovercraft which operate on water or land and water, and "dock premises" means a dock, wharf, quay, jetty or other place at which ships load or unload goods or embark or disembark passengers, together with neighbouring land or water which is used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, for those or incidental activities, and any part of a ship when used for those or incidental activities.     (6) These Regulations shall not apply to the master or crew of a ship or to the employer of such persons in respect of the normal shipboard activities of a ship's crew which are carried out solely by the crew under the direction of the master, and for the purposes of this paragraph "ship" includes every description of vessel used in navigation, other than a ship forming part of Her Majesty's Navy. PART 2 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises   12] which is applicable to that item of personal protective equipment; or (b) in the case of respiratory protective equipment, where no provision referred to in sub-paragraph (a) applies, be of a type approved or shall conform to a standard approved, in either case, by the Executive.     (5) The employer shall— (a) ensure that no employee is exposed to asbestos in a concentration in the air inhaled by that worker which exceeds the control limit; or (b) if the control limit is exceeded— (i) forthwith inform any employees concerned and their representatives and ensure that work does not continue in the affected area until adequate measures have been taken to reduce employees' exposure to asbestos to below the control limit, (ii) as soon as is reasonably practicable identify the reasons for the control limit being exceeded and take the appropriate measures to prevent it being exceeded again, and (iii) check the effectiveness of the measures taken pursuant to sub-paragraph (ii) by carrying out immediate air monitoring. Use of control measures etc.     13], in order to protect the health of his employees from an accident, incident or emergency related to the use of asbestos in a work process or to the removal or repair of asbestos-containing materials at the workplace, the employer shall ensure that— (a) procedures, including the provision of relevant safety drills (which shall be tested at regular intervals), have been prepared which can be put into effect when such an event occurs; (b) information on emergency arrangements, including— (i) details of relevant work hazards and hazard identification arrangements, and (ii) specific hazards likely to arise at the time of an accident, incident or emergency, is available; and (c) suitable warning and other communication systems are established to enable an appropriate response, including remedial actions and rescue operations, to be made immediately when such an event occurs.     (2) The employer shall ensure that information on the procedure and systems required by paragraph (1)(a) and (c) and the information required by paragraph (1)(b) is— (a) made available to the relevant accident and emergency services to enable those services, whether internal or external to the workplace, to prepare their own response procedures and precautionary measures; and (b) displayed at the workplace, if this is appropriate.     (3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply where— (a) the results of the risk assessment show that, because of the quantity of asbestos present at the workplace, there is only a slight risk to the health of employees; and (b) the measures taken by the employer to comply with the duty under regulation 11(1) are sufficient to control that risk.     (4) In the event of an accident, incident or emergency related to the unplanned release of asbestos at the workplace, the employer shall ensure that— (a) immediate steps are taken to— (i) mitigate the effects of the event, (ii) restore the situation to normal, and (iii) inform any person who may be affected; and (b) only those persons who are responsible for the carrying out of repairs and other necessary work are permitted in the affected area and they are provided with— (i) appropriate respiratory protective equipment and protective clothing, and (ii) any necessary specialised safety equipment and plant, which shall be used until the situation is restored to normal. Duty to prevent or reduce the spread of asbestos    14] apply, in accordance with those Regulations; and (b) in any other case in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 2. PART 3 PROHIBITIONS AND RELATED PROVISIONS Interpretation of prohibitions      5] and not as a contravention of a health and safety regulation.     (2) In the case of chrysotile only, the prohibition in paragraph (1) is subject to the exceptions in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Schedule 3. Prohibition of the supply of asbestos      16] as in force immediately before 24th November 1999.     (3) In the case of chrysotile only, the prohibition in paragraph (1) is subject to the exceptions in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 3. Prohibition of the use of asbestos    17] applied and the process was carried out in compliance with that regulation; or (b) that regulation did not apply. PART 4 MISCELLANEOUS Exemption certificates     18], the Executive may, by a certificate in writing, exempt any person or class of persons or any product containing asbestos or class of such products from the prohibitions imposed by regulations 28(1) and 29(1) and any such exemption may be granted subject to conditions and to a limit of time and may be varied or revoked by a further certificate in writing at any time.     (3) Subject to paragraph (4), the Executive may exempt emergency services from all or any of the requirements or prohibitions imposed by regulations 7 and 9 and any such exemption may be granted subject to conditions and to a limit of time and may be varied or revoked by a further certificate in writing at any time.     (4) The Executive shall not grant any exemption under paragraph (1),(2) or (3) unless having regard to the circumstances of the case and in particular to— (a) the conditions, if any, which it proposes to attach to the exemption; and (b) any other requirements imposed by or under any enactments which apply to the case, it is satisfied that the health or safety of persons who are likely to be affected by the exemption will not be prejudiced in consequence of it. Exemptions relating to the Ministry of Defence      19] as they apply to work in Great Britain. Existing licences and exemption certificates      20] shall— (a) continue to have effect as if it had been granted under regulation 8(2) of these Regulations; (b) be of the duration and subject to the conditions specified in it as if that duration and those conditions had been specified under regulation 8(3); and (c) be liable to variation and revocation under regulation 8(4) and (5), and any requirement in such a licence concerning notification and any exception to such a requirement shall have effect as a requirement for notification under regulation 9 of and as an exception to such a requirement under regulation 3(2) of these Regulations.     (2) An existing exemption granted by the Executive under regulation 7(1) of the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983, regulation 8(1) of the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992[21], or regulation 25(1) of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002[22] shall continue to have effect and be subject to any limitation of time or any conditions specified in it and liable to revocation as if it had been granted under regulation 32(1), (2) or (3) of these Regulations.     (3) An existing exemption granted by the Secretary of State for Defence under regulation 8(3) of the Asbestos (Prohibitions) Regulations 1992 shall continue to have effect and be subject to any limitation of time or any conditions specified in it and liable to revocation as if it had been granted under regulation 33 of these Regulations. Revocations, amendments and savings      23], in any proceedings for an offence consisting of a contravention of Part 2 of these Regulations it shall be a defence for any person to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of that offence. Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Philip Hunt Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions 12th October 2006     24] and the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004[25]); (b) asbestos waste, when required to be so labelled by regulation 24(3); and (c) products containing asbestos, including used protective clothing to which regulation 14(2) applies, shall be in the form and in the colours of the following diagram and shall comply with the specifications set out in paragraphs 2 and 3.     (2) In the case of a product containing crocidolite, the words "contains asbestos" shown in the diagram shall be replaced by the words "contains crocidolite/blue asbestos".     (3) Where the label is printed directly onto a product, a single colour contrasting with the background colour may be used.      2. The dimensions in millimetres of the label referred to in paragraph 1(1) shall be those shown on the diagram in that paragraph, except that larger measurements may be used, but in that case the dimension indicated as h on the diagram shall be 40% of the dimension indicated as H.      3. The label shall be clearly and indelibly printed so that the words in the lower half of the label can be easily read, and those words shall be printed in black or white.      4. —(1) Where a product containing asbestos may undergo processing or finishing it shall bear a label containing safety instructions appropriate to the particular product and in particular the following instructions— "operate if possible out of doors in a well-ventilated place"; "preferably use hand tools or low speed tools equipped, if necessary, with an appropriate dust extraction facility. If high speed tools are used, they should always be so equipped"; "if possible, dampen before cutting or drilling"; and "dampen dust, place it in a properly closed receptacle and dispose of it safely".     (2) Additional safety information given on a label shall not detract from or contradict the safety information given in accordance with sub-paragraph (1).      5. —(1) Labelling of packaged and unpackaged products containing asbestos in accordance with the foregoing paragraphs shall be effected by means of— (a) an adhesive label firmly affixed to the product or its packaging, as the case may be; (b) a tie-on label firmly attached to the product or its packaging, as the case may be; or (c) direct printing onto the product or its packaging, as the case may be.     (2) Where, in the case of an unpackaged product containing asbestos, it is not reasonably practicable to comply with the provisions of sub-paragraph (1) the label shall be printed on a suitable sheet accompanying the product.     (3) Labelling of raw asbestos and asbestos waste shall be effected in accordance with sub-paragraph (1)(a) or (c).     (4) For the purposes of this Schedule but subject to sub-paragraph (5), a product supplied in loose plastic or other similar wrapping (including plastic and paper bags) but no other packaging, shall be treated as being supplied in a package whether the product is placed in such wrapping at the time of its supply or was already so wrapped previously.     (5) No wrapping in which a product is placed at the time of its supply shall be regarded as packaging if any product contained in it is labelled in accordance with the requirements of this Schedule or any other packaging in which that product is contained is so labelled.  26].      2. Where it is not practicable for an employer to substitute for chrysotile a substance which, under the conditions of its use, does not create a risk to the health of his employees or creates a lesser risk than that created by chrysotile, regulations 26(3), 27(1), 28(1) and 29(1) shall not apply to— (a) Diaphragms for use in electrolytic cells in existing electrolysis plants for chlor-alkali manufacture; (b) chrysotile, or products to which chrysotile has intentionally been added, required solely for the manufacture of the products described in sub-paragraph (a).      3. Regulation 27(1) shall not apply to receptacles used for the storage of acetylene gas under pressure and in use before 24th November 1999.      6. The publication "Determination of airborne fibre concentrations. A recommended method, by phase-contrast optical microscopy (membrane filter method)", WHO Geneva 1997 (ISBN 92 4 154496 1) can be obtained online at www.who.int/publications/.      7. A copy of the regulatory impact assessment prepared in respect of these Regulations can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive, Economic Advisers Unit, Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HS. A copy of the transposition note in relation to implementation of the Directives set out in paragraph 2(b) can be obtained from the Health and Safety Executive, International Branch at the same address. Copies of both these documents have been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament. ISBN 0 11 075191 4

	© Crown copyright 2006	Prepared 20 October 2006