HC Deb 19 December 1984 vol 70 cc199-200W
Mr. Roy Hughes

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the policy of the Property Services Agency about safety aspects relating to the use of asbestos cement in the refurbishing of public buildings.

Sir George Young

[pursuant to his reply, 18 December 1984, c. 96]: Our general policy on all asbestos-containing material relates to asbestos-cement material and can be summarised as follows:

  1. (i) to reduce the risk of exposure to asbestos dust to the minimum reasonably practicable.
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  2. (ii) to ensure that persons are not exposed to dust levels in excess of HSE control limits.
  3. (iii) not to use (a) any products containing blue or brown asbestos (b) sprayed asbestos insulation or lagging (c) any asbestos based materials solely for thermal insulation or acoustic purposes or (d) any other asbestos-based materials before considering the use of substitute materials.
  4. (iv) to ensure that any work on asbestos-containing materials is carried out by approved contractors or competent PSA staff in strict accordance with Statutory Regulations and Approved Codes of Practice.
  5. (v) all known asbestos-containing materials to be recorded in a register and inspected at regular intervals.

If a building which was being refurbished contained asbestos-cement material the material would be checked to determine its condition. Then either:

  1. (i) If it were decided that it needed to be removed, either because it was sufficiently damaged to release fibres into the atmosphere or as part of the general work of refurbishment, it would be removed in accordance with good safety factors and all statutory requirements.
  2. (ii) If found to be in good condition and not required to be removed as part of the refurbishment details would be entered in the register, if this has not been already done, and regular checks carried out.

In deciding whether an asbestos-cement product should be incorporated into the building during refurbishment the possibility of using an alternative non-asbestos substitute would first be considered. In making such a decision possible health hazards would be weighed against the relative merits of the two materials with regard to the properties required for the particular application, such as the degree of flamability.