Changes to CAR 2006

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ended a consultation on changes to the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (CAR 2006) on 4 November, relating to proposed new regulations to replace the CAR 2006.

The changes are being made to bring UK asbestos regulations in line with the EC directive on asbestos.

The revised regulations will mean that more employers carrying out some types of lower risk, short duration maintenance and repair work with asbestos will have to comply with requirements to notify of asbestos work, keep records and carry out medical examinations for workers.

In the future, there will be three categories of work with asbestos as opposed to two:

1) Licensed works

As now, duty holders will have to comply with all of the following requirements:

• Hold a licence
• Have arrangements to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies.
• Designate asbestos areas
• Notify the relevant enforcing authority of work with asbestos
• Carry out medical examinations for workers
• Maintain a register for each worker of the type and duration of work done with asbestos.

A new definition of “licensed works” is being introduced for clarity and is set out in the consultation document.

2) Non-licensed works

As now, duty holders will be exempt from requirements 1 to 6 above.

3) Notifiable non-licensed works

This is a new category. Duty holders will be exempt from requirements 1 to 3 above but will be required to comply with requirements 4 to 6. Notification will be required before work starts and medical examinations will need to be carried out before exposure begins and then at least every three years.

The category is effectively created by new regulation 3(2) (see below), which describes the works exempted from requirements 4 to 6 above, and in particular, the inclusion of the wording italicised below in regulation 3(2)(c). Such wording appears in the EC directive but not in CAR 2006. It has to be added to the new regulations to ensure full implementation of the EC directive.

New regulation 3(2) reads: “Regulations 9 (notification of work with asbestos) and 22 (health records and medical surveillance) do not apply where:

• The exposure of employees to asbestos is sporadic and of low intensity; and
• It is clear from risk assessment that exposure to asbestos will not exceed the control limit; and
• The work involves: short, non-continuous maintenance activities in which only non-friable materials are handled, or
• removal without deterioration of non-degraded materials in which the asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix, or
• encapsulation or sealing of asbestos-containing materials that are in good condition, or
• air monitoring and control, and the collection and analysis of samples to ascertain whether a specific material contains asbestos.”

The terms “non-friable” or “without deterioration of non-degraded materials” will not be defined in the regulations but the HSE plans to issue guidance to help duty holders understand how the changes will work in practice.

What is not changing?

The core requirements of the regulations to identify asbestos; carry out risk assessments; have in place suitable measures to control exposure; and provide appropriate training will continue to apply to all work with asbestos and are not affected by the proposed changes.

Your Input

Industry professionals involved in the management of asbestos risk on a day-to-day basis should look at the new proposals in detail and register for an online alert for the second consultation on the terms of what is likely to be the all-important HSE guidance on how the new regulations will work in practice. Visit the HSE website at hse.gov.uk.