Asbestos Awareness for domestic buildings.........why?
Regulation 4 of The Control of Asbestos Regulations does not normally apply to domestic premises. However it does apply to common parts of the premises, including housing developments and blocks of flats etc.
Examples of common parts would include foyers, corridors, lifts and lift shafts, staircases, boiler-houses, vertical risers, gardens, yards and outhouses.
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, Section 2, requires all employers to conduct their work so their employees will not be exposed to health and safety risks......Section 3 places duties on employers and the self-employed towards people not in their employment (tenants?) and Section 4 contains general duties for anyone who has control, to any extent, over a workplace. In addition, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 19998 require employers to assess the health and safety risks to third parties, such as tenants who may be affected by their activities, and to make appropriate arrangements to protect them.
These requirements mean that organisations such as local authorities, housing associations, social housing management companies and others who own, or are responsible for, domestic properties, have legal duties to protect from asbestos exposure. As employers, the organisations also have duties under the general requirements of CAR 2006 to identify asbestos, carry out a risk assessment of work liable to expose employees to asbestos.
