Asbestos At Work and Trades

Asbestos at work remains a serious risk in the UK, particularly in buildings built before 2000. Employers and workers must follow strict legal duties under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 to prevent exposure, manage risks, and carry out work safely.

Understanding where asbestos is found, which trades are at risk, and what actions to take is essential for staying compliant and protecting health.

Key points

• Asbestos is still present in many UK buildings built before 2000 and remains a major workplace hazard.
• Exposure can cause serious illnesses, including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.
• Employers must assess and manage asbestos risks, while workers must follow safe procedures and training.
• High-risk asbestos work must be carried out by licensed contractors under HSE regulations.
• Workers should never disturb suspected asbestos and must report concerns immediately.

Why is asbestos dangerous?

Exposure to asbestos fibres can lead to serious illnesses including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.

Asbestos is most dangerous when disturbed, because fibres can be released into the air and inhaled by anyone in the area.

What are the key asbestos at work Regulations electricians, plumbers, labourers and carpenters need to know?

There are legal Regulations in place called The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, which place strict legal duties on employers and property managers to identify, manage or safely remove asbestos-containing materials in non-domestic premises to protect workers from exposure.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also provides guidance on working with asbestos.

What are the key asbestos Regulations and duties employers and workers must follow?

The key regulations and duties include employers protecting their employees from asbestos exposure wherever possible and workers following their employers’ asbestos training and policies.

Employer Responsibilities

• Employers must prevent exposure to asbestos where reasonably practicable or reduce it to the lowest level possible.

• Before work starts, there should be a suitable risk assessment carried out and, where relevant, an asbestos survey or asbestos information provided for the premises.

• Workers who may encounter asbestos need appropriate information, instruction and training.

Employee Responsibilities

• Workers must not disturb suspected asbestos unless the work is properly planned, controlled, and permitted.

• Workers should follow asbestos training they have received and ensure they adhere to their employer’s asbestos policies and procedures at all times.

Legal Requirements

• High-risk asbestos work, such as working with loose-fill insulation or asbestos coating, must only be carried out by contractors licensed by the HSE.

• Lower risk tasks may be non-licensed but still demand strict controls.

• If asbestos-containing materials are in non-domestic premises, the duty holder must identify, assess, and manage the risk.

Which trades are at risk of exposure to asbestos at work?

Electricians

Today: Risk can arise when drilling into walls or ceilings, accessing fuse boards, pulling cables through risers or ceiling voids and working near asbestos insulating board, textured coatings, or old electrical backing materials.

Historically: A significant number of electricians were exposed to asbestos materials as a result of working in premises such as power stations, plant rooms and boiler rooms, such buildings being notorious for containing vast amounts of lagging on boilers, plant and pipework.

Plumbers

Today: Risk can arise around pipe lagging, boiler cupboards, flues, ducts, ceiling panels, bath panels, floor tiles, and boxed-in service routes where asbestos-containing materials may be hidden.

Historically: Working in a domestic environment plumbers often came across asbestos fibres when cutting up Asbestolux sheeting, typically used to box-in pipework they had just completed. They may also have had to first remove the original asbestos sheeting material around the pipework.

Often employers secured a contract of work from a local authority who required plumbers to work in new builds or to refurbish existing buildings. This required the same work to be carried out across numerous, sometimes hundreds, of properties. Such work included fitting or replacing pipework and then either lagging that pipework themselves with asbestos lagging or being in the same area when a lagger followed them along to lag the pipework.

In industrial work, plumbers were required to work in boiler rooms and plant rooms. The boilers themselves and the associated pipework were often lagged with asbestos materials and that lagging had to be chopped off by the plumber in sections, so he could gain access to the pipework he had to repair or replace. In factory environments plumbers regularly worked with steam and condensate pipework that was lagged with asbestos.

Labourers

Today: Risk can arise during stripping out, demolition, clean-up, waste handling, sweeping debris, breaking materials or moving damaged panels, insulation, roofing sheets, or floor coverings in older buildings.

Historically: Many labourers suffered a massive level of exposure by mixing asbestos-based products on-site, sweeping up asbestos dust and debris without any breathing protection and assisting the tradesmen with moving asbestos materials around sites.

Carpenters:

Today: Risk can arise when cutting, fitting, sanding, or removing door linings, soffits, partition walls, ceiling tiles, panels, boxing, or fire-resistant boards that may contain asbestos.

Historically: Sheeting containing asbestos fibres was typically used as a fireproofing material and carpenters/joiners cut and fitted the sheeting to size to create, amongst other things, partitioning. Carpenters/joiners often spent all day, and even days and weeks at a time, cutting and fitting asbestos containing sheeting.

When asbestos sheeting was cut, extensive amounts of asbestos dust was released into the immediate breathing zone of the carpenter/joiner. When the sheeting was drilled so that it could be screwed into place, further asbestos fibres were released into the atmosphere.

As well as the smooth asbestos sheets, carpenters/joiners also regularly used corrugated asbestos sheeting, typically for garage, outbuilding and shed roofs.

The HSE estimates that “1 in 17 British carpenters born in the 1940s will die of mesothelioma”.

How can electricians, plumbers, labourers and carpenters reduce their risk of asbestos exposure on the job?

Plumbers, labourers and carpenters should consciously be aware of asbestos risks in any older built buildings and seek asbestos related documentation before starting work.

•  Treat any building built or refurbished before the year 2000 as potentially containing asbestos materials until you have reliable information showing otherwise.
• Ask for the asbestos register, survey, or site information before starting intrusive work.
• Do not drill, cut, sand, scrape, break, or disturb suspect materials unless the work has been properly assessed and controlled.
• Be aware of common asbestos materials such as pipe lagging, insulation board, textured coatings, ceiling tiles, floor tiles, soffits, gutters, flues, and service ducts.
• Use the correct method statements, controls and equipment for any permitted non-licensed work.
• Keep dust down and never use uncontrolled dry sweeping or compressed air on suspect materials.
• Make sure your asbestos awareness training is up to date.
• Report damaged or suspected asbestos immediately to a supervisor or duty holder.

For practical task-specific methods, workers and employers should check current HSE guidance, including the asbestos essentials task sheets, before undertaking any work that could affect asbestos-containing materials.

What training or awareness programmes are available for workers handling asbestos?

In the UK, asbestos training programs are strictly regulated by the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. The HSE mandates three distinct categories of training based on a worker’s level of contact with asbestos-containing materials:

• Category A – Asbestos Awareness: Designed for workers who may accidentally disturb asbestos during daily activities eg plumbers, electricians, carpenters. It covers how to avoid risks and identify hazards but does not train workers to handle or remove asbestos.

• Category B – Non-Licensed Work: Tailored for tradespeople who intentionally perform minor, short-duration maintenance and repair work on non-licensed asbestos materials. This includes topics like safe work methods, personal protective equipment and waste handling.

• Category C – Licensed Asbestos Work: Required for high-risk, intensive removal, encapsulation, or major disturbance of asbestos. It is strictly intended for specialist, licensed asbestos removal contractors.

The HSE provides a list of training providers for working with asbestos.

FAQs about asbestos at work

Which buildings are most likely to contain asbestos materials?

Any building built before 2000 could contain asbestos materials.

• Asbestos was not completely banned in the UK until the year 2000. Therefore, any building erected before that time could contain asbestos materials.

• The older the building, the more likely asbestos materials would have been used in its construction.

What are the most common places asbestos is found during trade work?

Asbestos materials can be found potentially anywhere in a building and may not be obvious to see.

• Due to asbestos being able to be moulded into many different items, including sheeting, rope, cloth, lagging, tiles, flues and guttering, asbestos materials may be present in any building built before 2000.
• Asbestos materials may not always be obvious to see and can be tucked away.
• Asbestos materials could be present both internally and externally on a building.

How can I tell if a material at work might contain asbestos?

The only way to confirm asbestos content is via laboratory testing.

• If you are working in a building built before the year 2000, be aware that asbestos materials may be present.
• Asbestos containing materials are not always obvious and cannot be confirmed as asbestos by visual inspection only.
• If you suspect a material could contain asbestos, work on the basis it does until proven otherwise.

Do all asbestos jobs need a licensed contractor?

Not all asbestos jobs need a licensed contractor.

• High-risk asbestos work, such as working with loose-fill insulation or asbestos coating, must only be carried out by contractors licensed by the HSE.
• Lower risk tasks may be non-licensed but still demand strict controls.

Who is responsible for managing asbestos risks in a workplace?

Legal duties are placed on specific people to manage asbestos risks.

• The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 place strict legal duties on employers and property managers to identify, manage or safely remove asbestos-containing materials in non-domestic premises.
• These duties are in place to protect workers from asbestos exposure.

Can I refuse to work if I think asbestos is present?

If you think asbestos is present, you should stop work, report your suspicion and follow your employers’ asbestos policies and procedures.

• There are legal requirements in place to ensure employees are not exposed to asbestos dust at work. Your employers should follow those requirements, as should you as an employee.

Asbestos and Mesothelioma Compensation Solicitors & Lawyers

If you’ve developed an asbestos-related condition such as mesothelioma, our expert team of solicitors can help you understand your right to make an asbestos compensation claim.

For a free confidential discussion ask for Isobel Lovett or Lorna Webster. Isobel, who is also Head of the Asbestos and Workplace Illness team at the firm, is a skilled asbestos claim solicitor who has dedicated many years to gaining compensation for sufferers of asbestos-related diseases.

Lorna is a solicitor who has spent over 25 years securing compensation for victims and families affected by asbestos-related diseases.

To get answers to your questions, give the team a call today on 0330 822 3451 or request a callback.