Emergency Procedures for an Accidental Asbestos Fibre Release
Posted on 26th April 2023 at 13:52
The HSE website states that asbestos can be found in buildings erected before the year 2000 and causes up to 500 deaths per year.
The release of asbestos fibres can cause a great deal of damage to those exposed to it. Emergency procedures must be put in place to limit the potential damage caused.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 is specifically designed to handle the management and working with asbestos in the workplace in order to reduce its severity to all workers in the area. Regulation 15 outlines the arrangements to deal with any accidents, incidents and emergencies pertaining to the accidental release of asbestos fibres.
Should an accidental release occur, the employer must make sure that procedures have been put in place for such an emergency, such as the use of safety drills. Information pertaining to the emergency must always be made available for everyone on site and put into effect in an emergency.
An alarm must be raised in the event of asbestos release. All activity in the area must stop immediately. The employer must take steps to warn people who may be affected by the release of asbestos due to the risk presented to them. People in the area who are not needed to deal with the release, as well as those not wearing PPE or RPE, must be excluded from the area for their own safety. Only those who are responsible for carrying out repairs within the affected area are allowed. Emergency asbestos release services must be contacted as soon as possible to deal with the asbestos.
The cause of the uncontrolled release must be identified immediately so that adequate control of the area can be regained. All people who may have been contaminated by the asbestos fibre release must be decontaminated via decontamination showers, and any clothing and PPE affected by asbestos to be either decontaminated or disposed of as hazardous waste to reduce infection.
What Can We Learn From This? – Toolbox Talk Details
• All workers on site must be made aware of the emergency procedures in the event of an asbestos release
• It is essential that decontamination units are installed for both workers and clothing
• Only people required to resolve an asbestos release must be in the affected area
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