Don't Let the Sun Set on Asbestos Law

A short history of asbestos

The word “asbestos” comes from the Latin word for “unquenchable”. It is a surprisingly versatile, plentiful, silicate mineral which, being naturally occurring, was sometimes mined and woven into mummy shrouds by the ancient Egyptians. Its use in the UK took off during the 1880’s, when it was extensively used to lag steam boilers, with its toughness and fire-retardance giving it a reputation as the wonder material of its day. Even though the first ill-health effects started to be noticed by the end of that century, and limited legislation was introduced during the 1930’s, the use of asbestos continued to grow. It became prevalent in friction products and fireproof construction materials in millions of homes, businesses, public buildings. The UK went on to become the world’s biggest supplier, with production not peaking until the 1970’s. The use of asbestos here was finally banned in 1985, and Arinite readers will probably be familiar with the UK’s approach of “managing”, rather than removing asbestos from hundreds of thousands of buildings.

Asbestos mortality 

The damaging fibres in asbestos lead not only to asbestosis - serious scarring of the lung -, but to mesothelioma - a cancer which affects the lining of the lungs (pleura) -, asbestos-related lung cancer, and pleural thickening. These diseases can take a very long time to appear – sometimes decades after any last exposure. The 5,000 or so related annual deaths far outweighs the 123 deaths from sudden work-related accidents we reported in our January 2023 Blog.

Legislation

You won’t be surprised to hear that, having played a part at the forefront of the asbestos industry, and its sorry legacy of disease/deaths, the UK enacted various laws over the years to contain the problem. One of the last incarnations - the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 - was revoked after only six years. Why? Being good Europeans at the time, we had to fall in line with EU Directive 2009/148/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. We are now therefore covered by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, which incorporates those EU requirements.

Brexit

In the run-up to, and after Brexit, the UK government promised a “bonfire” of EU regulations, and now talk about “sunsetting” those they wish to reform or revoke. Indeed, they even maintain a Retained EU Law “REUL” public dashboard of more than 1,000 pieces of legislation that are currently under the cosh. Enter the word “asbestos” into the REUL explorer search box, and you’ll understand why the British Occupational Hygiene Society is concerned that our 2012 asbestos regulations (amongst others) could become diluted or inadvertently scrapped altogether.

Not too heavy-handed

In fairness to the Government, the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022 states that Government departments and the devolved administrations will determine which retained EU law can expire, and which needs to be preserved and incorporated into domestic law. I have every confidence that common sense will prevail. Just because a regulation finds itself on the REUL endangered list does not necessarily mean it will be wholly scrapped, or even just amended. Those 5,000 deaths per year, not to mention all the suffering caused by the disease, is not a burden we or the NHS would want to carry.

Contact Us

Arinite clients worldwide appreciate we provide practical, no-nonsense advice about what you need to do to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment. Our team of health and safety consultants takes pride in keeping health and safety simple. If you need to call upon our expert assistance, or just for an informal chat, please call our office on 0207 947 9581, or contact us here. Jan Mirkowski