Probation unions pioneer asbestos management

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Safety representatives from the probation service unions NAPO and UNISON have negotiated the first asbestos management policy to cover a whole government department's premises. John Hague, NAPO representative who used the Centre during negotiations, reports.

Negotiated via the newly formed National Health and Safety Forum, the policy covers all probation service premises (offices, hostels and workshops) across England and Wales and was launched in December. The unions are already looking at extending the policy to other places where the roving nature of probation work takes their members. In the meantime, it's a possible model for other public sector safety reps to build on.

The policy sets up surveys and asbestos registers for all premises. Action will follow from the surveys using a hazard matrix. The safety reps argued successfully that the matrix should not differentiate between different forms of asbestos and that buildings built after legislation banning asbestos in 1985 should not be assumed to be asbestos-free. (The Probation Service has first hand experience of people who break the law!)

Periodically, every 6-12 months or as determined via the hazard matrix, the condition of asbestos containing material (ACM) will be re-assessed by external contractors. A national programme of quarterly local building inspections will back this up. Re-assessments will take place whenever new information suggests the presence of ACM or that ACM has been damaged (deliberately, accidentally or by erosion) or encapsulation has deteriorated.

Machine made mineral fibres (MMMF) are included in the policy, in particular the group of MMMF known as machine made vitreous fibres (MMVF), which comprises mineral wools (glass and rock wool) and refractory ceramic fibres.

Concerns were first raised in the 1980s about the use of MMVF, in particular exposure whilst installing mineral wool fibre loft insulation. The Probation Service accepts that high exposure may pose a risk of lung cancer in workers, so that protection for those working with this material is essential.

Safety reps are now close to an agreement to extend the policy from Probation Service buildings to any situations where probation staff work. This will include local authority premises where their members work alongside social workers, as well as courts and prisons.

A recent report indicated that of the 138 prisons in England and Wales, 129 contain asbestos and there are five legal claims in progress from officers at Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight, Haslar in Hampshire, Wormwood Scrubs and Swansea prisons.

There is also more work to be done in relation to Community Service projects where it is not only probation staff who are at risk. Clearly some people may have thought they had cottoned on to a cheap way to get rid of their unwanted asbestos: you get the Probation Service to agree to help refurbish or demolish your community centre or old garages, using people sentenced to Community Service, and you forget to mention the asbestos. A training programme will be developed to help staff identify possible asbestos, so that work on projects will not start or continue if asbestos is suspected.

More on managing asbestos

LHC factsheet: Management of asbestos in non-domestic premises Asbestos no hiding place: Hazards/TUC guide to the duty to manage

Both free via www.lhc.org.uk or 020 7794 5999

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