Updated guidance is now available by the British Health and Safety Executive to
help those responsible for managing the risks from asbestos best protect those
workers who may disturb it.

'Asbestos: The survey guide' is aimed at those who commission asbestos surveys,
the surveyors who carry them out and those who use them such as architects and
demolition or removal contractors.It sets out the role of surveys in ensuring
that builders or maintenance workers have all the information they need to
minimise their risk of exposure to asbestos and put the right precautions in
place.

Regulation 4 of Control of Asbestos Regulations contains an explicit duty on
those who are responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic
premises to assess and manage the risks from asbestos. It is a legal
requirement that information about the location and condition of asbestos
containing materials within a building is available to contractors and
tradesmen undertaking any work in the building.

'Asbestos: The survey guide' gives advice on how to select a competent
surveyor. It also contains greater detail on conducting refurbishment and
demolition surveys, what asbestos containing materials look like and where to
find them and new guidance on the use of surveys in the rented domestic sector.

Said Steve Coldrick, HSE's asbestos programme manager:

"Around 4000 people die from asbestos related diseases every year - more than
die in road accidents. Asbestos is still a real risk if it is not managed
properly.

The regulations set out who is responsible for managing the risk in
non-domestic buildings and what this should involve. This up-dated and
user-friendly guidance clearly sets out the role of the survey in managing
asbestos and really helps people make sense of it and relate it to real-life
situations."

More info

AplusA-online.de - Source: Health and Safety Executive