7.5 Specific Agents

Health risks, controls and the work activities where specific agents are found

The following chemical and biological agents are commonly met at work. For each, the ill health it causes and the relevant controls are outlined.

Asbestos

Asbestos is a well-known health hazard, and its use is now tightly regulated. Material in good condition that is not liable to disturbance may be managed in place after competent assessment. Damaged, deteriorating or disturbed material can release fibres, including fibres too small to see. A management plan needs information, monitoring and control of future work; neither leaving it in place nor removal is automatically safe. The fibres linked with the health risks are too small to see with the naked eye.

Breathing asbestos fibres can cause a build-up of scar-like tissue in the lungs called asbestosis, with loss of lung function that often leads to disability and death. Asbestos also causes lung cancer and other diseases, including mesothelioma, a fatal malignant tumour of the membrane that lines the chest cavity and the lung, and sometimes the abdomen.

Managing asbestos in premises. Duty holders should:

• take reasonable steps to find out whether asbestos-containing materials are present and, if so, how much, where, what type (for example tiles, boards or lagging) and in what condition
• make, and keep up to date, a record of the location and condition of asbestos-containing materials, or materials presumed to contain asbestos
• clearly identify any areas that have not been accessed or surveyed
• prepare a plan that sets out how the risks from these materials will be managed
• give information on the location and condition of asbestos-containing materials to anyone likely to work on or disturb them

Work with asbestos. Stop work that may unexpectedly disturb asbestos and obtain competent assessment. In Great Britain, higher-risk work requires an HSE-licensed contractor; some lower-risk work is non-licensed, with additional notification and medical requirements for notifiable non-licensed work. All work still needs the required competence, training, assessment and controls. Other countries have their own rules.

• do not cut, drill, break, sample or remove suspect material using this chapter as an operating procedure
• establish the work category and a suitable plan, including control of fibres, access, decontamination and waste
• use task-specific approved methods, suitable equipment and competent supervision
• do not dry sweep or carry contamination to clean areas or home
• provide the medical surveillance required for the type of work, without treating a medical check as protection or a guarantee of early detection of future disease

Summary notes for Element 7 · Cheat sheet · Glossary. A study aid, not published or endorsed by NEBOSH.