Buildings that people use in their daily lives, such as workplaces, schools and hospitals, are the focus of a new HSE campaign to keep people safe from asbestos. Asbestos: Your Duty, launching this week, aims to improve understanding of what the legal duty to manage asbestos involves.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) wants anyone with responsibilities for buildings to do everything they must to comply with the law and prevent exposure to this dangerous substance, which was widely used in post-war construction before it was completely banned in 1999.

The legal duty to manage asbestos covers a wide range of buildings such as museums, schools, hospitals and places of worship, as well as workplaces such as offices and factories.

Businesses and organisations responsible for premises built before the turn of the century, and especially those between 1950 and 1980 when the use of asbestos in construction was at its peak, must carry out the necessary checks and understand their legal responsibilities.

People who visit or work in these buildings will not be exposed if asbestos is properly contained. But it can become dangerous when disturbed or damaged.

Updated information, new templates (including an asbestos management plan template) and explanatory videos can be found on HSE’s website to help anyone who is unsure of their legal duties – or just need to refresh themselves – on what they need to do.

HSE will check how asbestos is managed when visiting a range of buildings – such as schools and hospitals – requiring those responsible for managing asbestos risks to ensure they have the right arrangements in place.

Sarah Albon, HSE’s chief executive said:

“To keep people safe from the harms of asbestos, a culture of safely managing asbestos is needed in our building industry and among those responsible for buildings. Asbestos exposure in Great Britain is still the single greatest cause of work-related deaths due to exposures decades ago. Together, we must protect people in the workplace and reduce future work-related ill health.”

International Workplace’s Asbestos Awareness training course has been designed to help you understand how to manage asbestos in the workplace and recognise the risks. The content of the training is stipulated in the L143 Approved Code of Practice for the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2012. The course is suitable for anyone liable to disturb the fabric of a building or supervising those people. This would include but not limited to maintenance and repair staff, FM operatives, electricians, plumbers, gas fitters, IT installers and fire alarm cablers.