Assessments of background asbestos levels in UK buildings may be providing employers with a false sense of reassurance. The UK also looks set to fall behind Europe in reducing the risks the substance poses to building occupants and workers.
Opinion
Asbestos risk management: why the UK is falling short
By
on 01 September 2024
The word asbestos is often given little thought or consequence to by the vast majority of the population. This is typically because most believe asbestos is an issue of the past and therefore poses no threat nowadays. You could be mistaken for believing that, given that various asbestos bans have occurred since 1985 with the final full ban on the new use of asbestos in the UK in 1999.
Photograph: iStock/SteveLuker
Unfortunately, this is far from the case. According to official figures, asbestos-related diseases account for more premature deaths in Britain than road accidents. Current death tolls from asbestos-related disease account for more than 5,000 each year.
Exposure to asbestos can lead to a number of fatal diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Asbestos-related disease is usually associated with substantial exposure to airborne asbestos fibres. This is often linked with historical work practices, such as the manufacture of asbestos-containing products, their installation or cleaning and sweeping up associated debris, to name but a few. The values which are used to determine when asbestos poses a significant risk are often based on the levels which may have been seen in the past from those types of activities.
However, it is recognised that there is no known safe limit of exposure and even the smallest amount of asbestos dust or fibres can lead to a diagnosis of mesothelioma.
In the UK, the regulations governing the management and control of asbestos are the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012). These regulations were produced in line with European Union (EU) Directive 2009/148/EC. The fundamental objective of the regulations is to prevent or minimise exposure to asbestos and thereby limit the potential to contract an asbestos-related disease.
CAR 2012 includes a control limit for asbestos at 0.1 fibres per cubic centimetre of air (0.1 f/cm³) or 0.1 fibres per millilitre of air (f/ml). However, it is crucial to acknowledge that this value does not denote a ‘safe’ level of exposure, and that all exposures must be eliminated or reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
On 30 November 2023, the European Union (EU) published Directive 2023/2668/EU, which amended the previous Directive 2009/148/EC. One of the amendments is a ten-fold reduction of the occupational exposure limit (OEL) for asbestos. The previous limit was 0.1 f/cm³ (0.1f/ml) but this will be reduced to 0.01 f/cm³ (0.01f/ml). The directive aims to protect workers from the dangers of asbestos, a highly dangerous carcinogenic substance.
Given its departure from the European Union, it remains to be seen how the UK will respond to the changes being brought about by the European Commission. It is, however, vital to consider some of the history of exposure and disease within the UK as a means to understanding and determining if we really should be doing more.
Case law information
At a High Court hearing on 24 July 2009 between Dianne Willmore and Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, a medical expert witness statement stated: “Mesothelioma can occur after low level asbestos exposure and there is no threshold dose of asbestos below which there is no risk.”
‘Significant’ levels of asbestos exposure are defined, in accordance with the definition adopted in relation to mesothelioma causation by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council in their 1996 report (CM3467), as “a level above that commonly found in the air in buildings and the general outdoor environment. It would be appropriate for the court to conclude that each such exposure materially increased the risk that she would develop mesothelioma,” stated the witness statement.
Dianne Willmore had been exposed to asbestos at school as a child and consequently developed mesothelioma, sadly passing away on 15 October 2009 aged just 49.
The expert medical evidence was accepted by the judges and was not disputed at the High Court or the Appeal Court. This same benchmark – that mesothelioma can occur after low level asbestos exposure and there is no threshold dose of asbestos below which there is no risk – is also advocated in the HSE Statisticians paper by Hodgson and Darnton.
Colette Willoughby is a director and asbestos compliance consultant at Asbestos Compliance Limited. Photograph: Asbestos Compliance Limited
The paper is generally acknowledged as being the most definitive work on the risks from asbestos exposure, with the risk model being used as a basis for the Regulatory Impact Assessments for the 2002 Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAWR) and the subsequent CAR Regulations 2012. They state: “Taking this evidence together we do not believe there is a good case for assuming any threshold for mesothelioma risk.”
Background airborne asbestos fibre levels
The airborne asbestos fibre levels commonly found in the air in buildings and the general outdoor environment (as referenced above), are given in the 1999 Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) document on asbestos materials in buildings. This document advises that the outdoor background level is between 0.000001f/ml and 0.0001f/ml, with the former generally being accepted as the outdoor rural level and the latter as the outdoor urban level. The same document gives an approximate level of 0.0005f/ml for buildings where asbestos is in good condition. The document states only where asbestos is regularly disturbed are the levels likely to be higher than 0.0005f/ml. The level therefore referred to as ‘background’ in buildings is 0.0005f/ml and expert opinion is that exposures to levels above that benchmark pose a “significant” risk of mesothelioma developing.
Air monitoring
At present, asbestos analysts and management experts undertake a variety of different types of air tests when considering if asbestos may be present. Those different types can be broadly identified as:
- Background air monitoring, used to establish the baseline or background airborne level
- Leak testing, used to test and monitor that enclosures used for removing asbestos are effective and nothing is leaking out into the adjacent air
- Reassurance sampling, used to provide reassurance that an environment is satisfactory following disturbance and/or removal of asbestos
- Clearance air sampling (i.e. assessment of Clearance Indicator Level), used to establish the level below which a room can be legally occupied following licensed removal work on asbestos.
The Clearance Indicator Level is set at 0.010f/ml with all monitoring undertaken following licensed asbestos removal work having to be less than this value. It is important to appreciate that this is a level designed for asbestos removal works and not for the occupants of buildings. Unfortunately, and for some unknown reason, this value of 0.010f/ml by default has generally been adopted as the level which is used for all types of leak, reassurance and background air monitoring carried out by analysts.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance HSG248, Asbestos: The Analysts’ Guide (edition 2, July 2021), paragraph 6.4 includes further details, advising that: “Complying with the airborne clearance indicator threshold does not mean the area is completely free of airborne asbestos. Due to the very fine nature of asbestos fibres, some fibres may remain in the air for a period of time following any asbestos removal. Airborne fibre levels will reduce to natural background concentrations over time due to dilution, dispersion and settlement.
“The clearance threshold specifies a maximum acceptable limit for airborne fibre levels following asbestos removal. Further disturbance of any surfaces following dismantling of the enclosure should produce much lower fibre levels.”
At the Clearance Indicator Level of 0.010f/ml a person inhales 6,000–10,000 fibres an hour. This is therefore not a safe level. HSE also make this clear within L143, The Approved Code of Practice which supports CAR 2012, paragraph 453 by stating: “The threshold of less than 0.01 f/ml should be taken only as a transient indication of site cleanliness... and not an acceptable, permanent environmental level.”
Workplace control limits (or Occupational Exposure Levels) are considerably higher than the Clearance Indicator Level, but they are intended to be controlled and adhered to by asbestos contractors wearing protective clothing and respirators during asbestos removal and remediation work. The present Control Limit is 0.1f/ml averaged over four hours or 0.6f/ml for a 10-minute period. Over the four hours a person would inhale about 240,000 asbestos fibres and over the 10 minutes they would inhale about 60,000 asbestos fibres. The Control Limit is therefore not a safe level.
Because it is known that the Control Limits are not safe levels they have been progressively lowered over the years, with the European Union now continuing with a further ten-fold reduction from the current UK level of 0.1f/ml level.
Despite the risks being known, the workplace control levels, and in particular the Clearance Indicator Level, have by default been applied incorrectly to the occupants of buildings. This is a situation which needs to be addressed.
Current guidance
As mentioned, the Clearance Indicator Value of 0.010f/ml has been incorrectly applied to routine air sampling (i.e., sampling other than clearance testing). It is not fully understood why this has occurred other than the previous 2005 version of HSE’s Guidance document HSG 248: The Analysts’ Guide focused on a value of 0.010f/ml intended for clearance testing. The 2005 version of The Analysts’ Guide did advise that any reading above background needed to be investigated. However, as it didn’t include any values for ‘background’ levels those using the guidance appear to have incorrectly assumed that 0.010f/ml was the background level being referred to.
Photograph: iStock/LindaSteward
The latest edition of The Analysts’ Guide (July 2021) has endeavoured to address this matter and does include a number of references to the purpose of and need to establish ambient background levels. For example, paragraph 5.47 states: “Background and reassurance sampling are used to determine the prevailing airborne fibre concentrations. Background sampling usually refers to monitoring carried out before an activity (e.g., asbestos removal or remediation) to establish the baseline fibre level. It may also be performed to assess whether normal occupancy is giving rise to airborne fibres for any reason.”
It is now more than 15 years since the Willmore and Knowsley MBC legal case. This case firmly established that any exposure above background level posed a significant risk of contracting mesothelioma, a debilitating and deadly asbestos-related disease.
Tragically though we still find ourselves in a situation where the type of monitoring necessary to establish if individuals are exposed above background is not being carried out. Instead, well-meaning employers are being provided with inappropriate monitoring and results which will do little to demonstrate or reassure them and others liable to be affected that no increased risk of exposure has occurred. Is it little wonder then that our annual death toll continues to increase?
There has been a lot of publicity and talk around the new EU Directive and especially in trying to second guess if the UK Government will follow the example set by Europe. The discussions within the UK and the headlines seen tend to focus on the ten-fold reduction from 0.1 f/cm3 (0.1f/ml) down to 0.01 f/cm3 (0.01f/ml), along with various analytical techniques used for the analysis of samples.
These headlines and quandaries unfortunately mean we are overlooking other key aspects of the amendments to the Directive, not least the requirement for more appropriate training for those who could be exposed to asbestos or work with the substance. This includes building occupants (i.e. workers at a site where asbestos is present), visiting tradespeople carrying out works on-site, asbestos removal contractors and asbestos air monitoring analysts and surveyors.
If adopted in the EU, this will aid knowledge and understanding around the prevention of exposure and all aspects of asbestos risk management, and hopefully lead to a reduction in individuals being unknowingly exposed to asbestos.
After all, if you are aware of the issues and risks and what’s required then that has got to be a good thing. This is a far more proactive approach and should help to prevent exposure in the first instance, as opposed to subsequent monitoring letting you know if an exposure has occurred.
After spending more than 42 years in the asbestos sector I have been passionate about increasing knowledge and understanding. These are key areas and will help all to appreciate what they need to do to keep themselves and others safe.
It is for reasons such as this that we at Asbestos Compliance Limited recently developed and introduced three new qualifications which form the ‘D Suite’, aimed at people with different roles in managing asbestos and who require different levels of knowledge about risk reduction. It must be appreciated that one size does not fit all and while for many years the asbestos industry has offered training covering general awareness about asbestos products, we have lacked targeted training for some of the key roles. The D Suite qualifications are regulated by the National Open College Network (NOCN) and comprise:
- D412 – An Understanding of Asbestos Management (Ofqual Level 3)
- D413 – Asbestos Management, Practicalities and Awareness (Ofqual Level 4)
- D417 – Asbestos Management for the Duty Holder/Appointed Person (Ofqual Level 5).
Colette Willoughby MA CMIOSH FFAAM AFOH CCP is a director and asbestos compliance consultant at Asbestos Compliance Limited. She is also chair of the National Organisation of Asbestos Consultants (NORAC).
For more information go to:
asbestos-compliance.co.uk/courses/
