The duty to manage is directed at those who manage non-domestic premises: the people with responsibility for protecting others who work in such premises, or use them in other ways, from the risks to ill health that exposure to asbestos causes.

Before carrying out any building maintenance work, refurbishment work or demolition work, you should always ask the person who manages the building if the building has been surveyed for asbestos, as it is your right to be protected from this dangers posed by unnecessary exposure to asbestos substances.

In non-domestic buildings you have a right to be given information about the condition and location of asbestos by the person who manages the building, before you start work and you must pass this information on to anyone working for you on the job. You should ask for this when tendering or quoting for work, the information about asbestos will help you to cost the job correctly, plan the work safely and prevent potentially expensive surprises on site.

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations, 2006 (S.I. No. 386 of 2006), aim to protect the health and safety of all employees who may be exposed to dust from asbestos containing materials, during the course of their work activities. The regulations apply to all work activities and workplaces where there is a risk of people inhaling asbestos dust.

The Asbestos Regulations prohibit the importation, supply and use of all forms of asbestos. Asbestos is a hidden killer that can cause serious lung diseases. These diseases will not affect you immediately and often take time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything. Therefore you need to protect yourself and ask to see the buildings asbestos survey before carrying out any work.

Asbestos waste must be packaged and transported by an appropriately trained and insured waste collection company who have been specifically vetted and issued a hazardous waste permit to collect Asbestos Waste from the County Council where the asbestos is being removed from. It is the responsibility of the building owner where the asbestos is removed to ensure that their asbestos is packaged and collected by a company who is approved by their local county council to collect asbestos waste. Approved companies are issued a waste permit by each county council to ensure it is handled safely and not dumped illegally. When the asbestos is collected correctly the collection company will always issue certification, which will give details of their waste permit, which can be verified by your county council to ensure that your waste is traceable and not transported and dumped illegally.

Many businesses and householders are simply not aware of the risks associated with asbestos waste, which is a toxic waste, and therefore has special legislative requirements relating to its handling, storage and transport. These special requirements are being deliberately ignored to save time and cost, which then poses serious health, safety and environmental problems, when it is removed, transported and dumped illegally.

To overcome this there are specific legislative requirements in place under Health, Safety and Environmetal guidelines for the removal, transport and disposal of waste containing asbestos. These include ensuring the asbestos waste is removed, packaged, transported and disposed of safely at a licensed hazardous waste facility.

Many business and home owners may not be aware of the legal processes necessary to dispose of asbestos waste appropriately, so education is provided at each council council office. Further information can also be obtained from the Health and Safety Authority and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The message from the local authorities is “don’t allow asbestos from your premises to be collected without first obtaining the waste collectors waste collection permit number, which you can verify with your local council council before the asbestos is collected”. This will ensure that the waste will not be transported and dumped illegally. If the waste collector does not have a waste permit they are not permitted to collect and transport asbestos legally and their actions must be reported to either the Health & Safety Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency or your local County Council, in order to help prevent the rise in illegal transport and dumping of toxic asbestos waste.

The hard-hitting educational campaign targets dutyholders which broadly defined are those who own or manage commercial buildings, including factories, warehouses, shops and offices.

The campaign, which is being delivered in partnership with Northern Ireland’s 26 District Councils, aims to remind dutyholders of their legal obligation to manage the risks from asbestos. Nearly 60,000 premises across the province are set to receive an information pack from HSENI from this week which incorporates a basic eight-step guide to help manage the risks from asbestos. The guide also stresses the importance of maintaining an up-to-date asbestos register for your building.

When asbestos fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases which are responsible for around 4000 deaths a year in the UK alone. There are four main diseases caused by asbestos: mesothelioma (which is always fatal), lung cancer (almost always fatal), asbestosis (not always fatal, but it can be very debilitating) and diffuse pleural thickening (not fatal).

Remember, these diseases will not affect you immediately but later on in life, so there is a need for you to protect yourself now in order to prevent you and others from contracting an asbestos-related disease in the future. It is also important to remember that people who smoke and are also exposed to asbestos fibres are at a much greater risk of developing lung cancer.