§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance the Health and Safety Executive gives on the handling of asbestos products; what tests have been carried out for the purposes of the guidance to establish the fibre levels released by such products; who carried out the tests; and on what dates. [98682]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 25 February 2003]: The Health and Safety Executive has given guidance in six publications on the handling of asbestos products. They are the two Approved Codes of Practice, Work with asbestos insulation, asbestos coating and asbestos insulating board and Work with asbestos, which does not normally require a licence, and four guidance documents—Introduction to Asbestos Essentials, 185W Asbestos Essentials Task Manual, Controlled Asbestos Stripping Techniques and Working with Asbestos Cement.
The Health and Safety Laboratory studied the fibre levels released from the main types of asbestos-containing materials by various maintenance activities in 1998. They also reviewed existing literature from the United Kingdom and United States. The results of the study and review are in Annexe I of the Regulatory Impact Assessment on the amendments to the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations.
A copy of the guidance and the regulatory impact assessment are available in the Library.
§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what(a) instructions and (b) guidance is given to health and safety inspectors on the action they should take if they discover that asbestos removal contractors have acted improperly in determining that work should be undertaken to remove asbestos; and if he will make a statement. [98685]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 25 February 2003]: HSE inspectors promote HSE's policy, which is that asbestos in good condition should be left in place and managed and that asbestos in poor condition, or which is likely to be damaged or disturbed, should be repaired, sealed, enclosed or removed.
If HSE are notified of "improper" removal, their prime concern is whether the contractor has put someone at risk as a result of working with asbestos and their investigation would concentrate on this aspect of the complaint. Although there are no specific instructions or guidance to inspectors about the action to take where it has been alleged that a contractor or other third party has acted fraudulently, HSE staff may give guidance to the complainant on the appropriate authorities (for example Trading Standards or the Police) to pursue the issue.