Asbestos
General Precautions

Asbestos

General Precautions

Building Activities

Asbestos Inspections

Types of Survey

Programme Productions

Accidents, Incidents and Emergencies

Asbestos Awareness

Common Questions

Key Points

The effective management of the hazards associated with Asbestos Containing Materials will in the first instance be addressed through routine risk assessment.

The BBC's Asbestos Management Strategy details the overall organisation, arrangements and implementation for the management of asbestos. This strategy is supported by a Site Specific Asbestos Management Plan, which must be printed off, completed, maintained and kept on site by the APA (Appointed Persons Asbestos). This must be done for each site that the APA is responsible for. This site specific management plan provides details of:

the appointment of APA's and site specific arrangements
the control of contractors through "permit to work" restrictions.

Additional supporting documentation that must be maintained by the APA's are:

site specific asbestos register and
site specific information for the emergency services.

These documents should be requested from the JCI Asbestos Management Team by the APA and stored on site for each site the APA is responsible for.

Divisions must comply with the BBC Asbestos Management Strategy, and implement the following:

Each Division must:

appoint a senior manager with responsibility for health and safety who will ensure a management system is in place for the effective communication and compliance with the Strategy
ensure that systems are in place to monitor compliance and adequacy, including the identification of any operational needs for additional local arrangements to ensure compliance
ensure that those persons responsible for contractor appointment or contract supervision take all reasonable steps in order to provide information and ensure the continuity of competence relative to any known or potential hazards that it may be reasonable to expect.

Managers/Producers must ensure that, for the areas, operations or activities for which they are responsible, no persons are required to carry out any work where it is reasonably foreseeable that they might expose themselves, or others, to Asbestos Containing Materials. Where such potential exposures are identified, they must seek appropriate guidance on the precautions to be taken from the Appointed Person Asbestos (APA) or the Johnson Controls (JCI) Asbestos Management Team (AMT).

Managers/Producers must ensure that those whom it is reasonable to expect might encounter Asbestos Containing Materials during their work, Maintenance Engineers, Location Managers for example, have received training in simple recognition of such hazards and the appropriate remedial actions / notifications they must take must it be discovered.

Where there is a known risk or where it may be reasonable to expect a risk to exist, staff, contractors and others must be made aware of this as part of their induction process.

BBC Workplace must ensure that competent Asbestos Professionals are appointed to manage and/or advise the BBC and JCI on all aspects of compliance with the BBC Asbestos Management Strategy. They must also be aquainted with relevant health and safety legislation and must arrange such performance monitoring and compliance auditing as is necessary to ensure that they adequately discharge their responsibilities.

The Asbestos Management Team have been appointed Competent Professionals Asbestos and are managed by JCI.

They must provide documented procedures to be followed in the event of damage to building or other material which may expose persons to Asbestos Containing Materials and which:

takes into account specific operational requirements
clearly identifies roles and responsibilities of individuals, and gives the actions to be followed, including any relevant timescales
identifies any specific training or competencies required in order to discharge the duties detailed at above
identifies the circumstances when evacuation must take place and the need for isolation of services
The Asbestos Management Team must maintain a record of the Appointed Person Asbestos including details of how they may be contacted.

The Asbestos Management Team must arrange and co-ordinate a programme of asbestos inspections for those premises managed by, or on behalf of, the BBC. As far as is reasonably practicable, such inspections must identify where Asbestos Containing Materials is present, its type, amount and condition and this information must be collated into an Asbestos Register

All work on Asbestos Containing Materials must be carried out by licensed contractors approved by the Asbestos Management Team.

In most circumstances work that falls under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 will require to be undertaken by a contractor with a valid HSE Asbestos License.

However, materials that are of a lower risk (e.g. asbestos cement) then an unlicensed but competent contractor may, following advice from the Asbestos Management Team, carrying-out the work.

As with any asbestos, prior to removing asbestos cement, an assessment needs to be carried out to determine the risk presented by the material, and by the work to be undertaken. That assessment needs to be carried out by a competent person prior to the work being awarded to an asbestos removal contractor. The risk assessment will determine if the work falls within the HSE Licensing Section. (The Asbestos Management Team will advise).

Chrysotile Asbestos (white asbestos) is still a special waste and therefore has to be disposed of at a landfill site licensed to accept asbestos.

The transport of asbestos waste can only be undertaken by a licensed contractor.

It is important that asbestos is removed by a competent asbestos removal contractor under the supervision of the Asbestos Management Team.

By using a non licensed contractor could create the opportunities for "fly tipping". This type of practice could end-up with the BBC being prosecuted.

To avoid any potential where bad practices may occur the BBC guidance is to remove all asbestos, irrespective of the type, using an a Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor under the supervision of the Asbestos Management Team.

Prevention of exposure and proper control over all building activities that might involve ACM are of paramount importance.

It is important to emphasise that the presence of Asbestos Containing Materials does not in itself constitute any danger. It does, however, constitute a hazard when disturbed and must be treated accordingly. Activities which give rise to airborne dust, e.g. breaking, sawing, cutting, drilling or machining asbestos products, are those most likely to present a risk.

There are no circumstances or situations where the BBC can require its staff or others not in its employment to be exposed to the hazards associated with Asbestos Containing Materials.