§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will seek to require that an explicit obligation should be placed on any person who produces specifications or carries on a process involving the use of asbestos or any product containing it to consider the substitution of asbestos by other materials so far as it is reasonably practical to do so;
(2) when the Health and Safety Commission expects to provide a policy on substitutes for asbestos, taking into account the social costs of obtaining, using and disposing of asbestos.
§ Mr. WaddingtonProposals for legislation covering this obligation as well as other recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos are in preparation and will be published by the Health and Safety Commission for consultation in due course. There is some doubt, however, whether it is practicable to extend this obligation to persons other than the manufacturers of asbestos products.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if the Health and Safety Commission intends to provide and publish advice on the general principles involved in conducting the evaluation of, and data on, particular possible substitutes for asbestos.
§ Mr. WaddingtonYes.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has undertaken any review of the statutory limitations on the disclosure of information relating to asbestos; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThe Health and Safety Commission has a general responsiblity for reviewing policy on the disclosure of information under health and safety legislation. I am assured that the commission has taken full account of the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos that there should be a review of restrictions on the disclosure of information on asbestos in its continuing review of policy in this area. However, I understand that no major problems with the current provisions have come to light.
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§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will bring together in one publication all the existing legislation, regulations, codes of practice and guidance notes relating to asbestos.
§ Mr. WaddingtonAs the hon. Member will appreciate, the Health and Safety Commission has set in motion a number of initiatives to deal with the health hazards associated with asbestos. These are at various stages of development and consultation. It is the Health and Safety Commission's intention that, once the legislation and guidance stemming from these initiatives has been accomplished, a consolidated publication on the regulations, approved codes of practice and guidance notes on asbestos will be published.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the monitoring and evaluation carried out by the Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances of the Health and Safety Commission on research into establishing and monitoring control on asbestos.
§ Mr. WaddingtonResearch into substitutes monitoring methods and exposure to asbestos in the non-occupational environment has been commissioned and will be evaluated as results become available.
The commission has asked Sir Richard Doll, an internationally recognised expert in epidemiology, to undertake a detailed review of all the medical evidence to date on the health effects of asbestos. In addition, it has asked the deputy director general of the Health and Safety Executive, Dr. Duncan, to bring together a group of medical experts to consider whether there have been any substantial changes to medical knowledge since the final report of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos. The results of these reviews will assist the commission in deteriming whether any new controls are necessary.
The commission has also set up a working group, including both sides of industry and chaired by a senior officer of HSE, to identify and recommend any further measures for the control of asbestos which were not considered practicable at the time of the advisory committee's report. A review is also to be commissioned on the adequacy of and the problems of wearing respiratory protective equipment.
The commission has received reports of research carried out into substitutes for asbestos—for example the report of the World Health Organisation's conference on man-made mineral fibres—and on asbestos in the general environment, and will be considering the results of HSE's research into improvements in monitoring methods.
The HSC's Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances in monitoring all these developments.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will seek to require enforcing authorities to ensure compliance with control limits for each type of asbestos by means of personal sampling with the membrane filter method, using a four-hour sample to assess compliance with the control limit.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI understand that the Factory Inspectorate is already applying, in the enforcement of existing legislation on asbestos, the requirement for personal sampling by the membrane filter method over a four-hour sampling period.
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§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will replace the term "hygiene standard" by "control limit" for the assessment of exposure to asbestos dust;
(2) if he will provide legal backing for a single control limit for each type of asbestos which applies to all processes involving asbestos or products containing it, using the results or measurements taken during a four-hour sampling period;
(3) if he will introduce legislation to require employers to carry out dust estimations at such places and at such intervals as are necessary for the purpose of ascertaining the effectiveness of methods of restricting the exposure of employees to asbestos dust and testing the efficiency of engineering methods for the control of dust, especially exhaust ventilation equipment.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThe Health and Safety Commission has decided that new limits of exposure to each type of asbestos based on the advisory committee's recommendations should be introduced from 1 January 1983. The replacement of the term "hygiene standard" by "control limit" will take place at the same time.
Proposals for legislation covering control limits and the requirements for the reduction and monitoring of exposure as well as other recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos are in preparation and will be published for consultation in due course.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that all people whose work is liable to expose them regularly to asbestos dust are advised to refrain from smoking; what means are used to provide this advice; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThe Health and Safety Executive's employment medical advisory service produces a short leaflet, which is available free to all asbestos employers and employees, outlining the health risks associated with working with asbestos and advising on sensible precautions to take. The leaflet advises workers to give up smoking. It is distributed by the Factory Inspectorate and the employment medical advisory service. The leaflet is being revised, and when it is republished the HSE will make efforts to ensure a wide distribution among asbestos workers. The guidance which the HSE will issue in conjunction with the current and planned proposals for medical surveillance for asbestos workers will include advice on the leaflet.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the training of people who examine and test ventilation equipment involved in asbestos processes, factories or areas.
§ Mr. WaddingtonOne of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Asbestos was that people who examine and test ventilation equipment should be trained to a specified standard. Proposals for legislation covering this and other recommendations of the advisory committee are in preparation and will be published for consultation in due course.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to require employers to co-operate in the employment medical advisory service survey of precautionary measures taken to comply with the asbestos regulations.
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§ Mr. WaddingtonNo. I understand that full voluntary co-operation is being given by employers who participate in the employment medical advisory service survey of asbestos workers.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will introduce legislation to provide for workers being medically examined on entering employment with the use of asbestos materials and for periodic medical examinations thereafter, and full retention and provision of medical records to provide as much information as reasonably practicable about exposure to asbestos dust;
(2) if he will introduce legislation to require employers to inform a medical supervisory scheme of anyone currently in or entering employment where precautionary measures have to be taken regularly to ensure compliance with the asbestos regulations and to require employers to provide facilities for employees to be medically examined.
§ Mr. WaddingtonStatutory requirements for the medical examination of workers exposed to asbestos in certain occupations have been in force for some time. More are proposed in the consultative document "Work with Asbestos Insulation and Asbestos Coating" which was published by the Health and Safety Commission last month. Additional proposals are in the course of preparation.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will seek to ensure that so far as reasonably practicable areas or work places where dust concentration of asbestos is likely to exceed the control limit are suitably marked and access limited;
(2) if he will introduce regulations to require the provision of protective clothing and respiratory protection to any workers whose person or personal clothing is liable to be significantly contaminated with asbestos dust;
(3) if he will introduce legislation to prohibit the cleaning in workers' homes of the protective clothing required to be issued for work with asbestos;
(4) if he will introduce legislation to require that suitable changing and washing facilities should be provided at all places where protective clothing with the use of asbestos dust is required.
§ Mr. WaddingtonMany of these precautions are already required by the asbestos regulations. Where they are not or where further refinement is necessary, appropriate proposals are being prepared by the Health and Safety Commission.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to require exposure to asbestos to the minimum that is reasonably practicable.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI understand that the Factory Inspectorate is already applying, in the enforcement of existing legislation on asbestos, the requirement to reduce exposure to asbestos to the minimum reasonably practicable.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to ensure that raw asbestos is imported into the United Kingdom only in totally enclosed metal-clad, non-ventilated International Standards Organisation general purpose freight containers, 92W and that raw asbestos fibres and other loads liable to give rise to asbestos dust are transported in the United Kingdom in such a way as to prevent the escape of asbestos dust.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI am assured that most shipments of raw asbestos fibre already comply with the conditions mentioned, which were recommended by the Advisory Committee on Asbestos in its final report. The best means of ensuring this recommendation is met may be by international codes governing the transport of dangerous goods. The Health and Safety Executive is consulting Government Departments on this point.