Workplace Safety and Health (Asbestos) Regulations 2014
PART II
ASCERTAINING PRESENCE OF ASBESTOS OR
ASBESTOS‑CONTAINING MATERIALS AT WORKPLACE
Survey of workplace
3.—(1) It shall be the duty of the employer of a person who is to carry out, or the principal under whose direction a person is to carry out, at a workplace —
(a)any work, operation or process involving a specified material; or
(b)any building works relating to any building in respect of which or any part of which no certificate of statutory completion or a temporary occupation permit is issued on or after 1st January 1991,to ensure that the work, operation or process or the building works, as the case may be, starts to be carried out only after the employer or principal, as the case may be, receives a survey report from a competent person appointed by the employer or principal under paragraph (2) as to whether asbestos is present in the specified material, or asbestos or asbestos-containing material is fixed or installed in the building, as the case may be.
(2) It shall be the duty of the employer or principal, as the case may be, referred to in paragraph (1) to appoint a competent person —
(a)in the case of any work, operation or process involving a specified material referred to in paragraph (1)(a), to conduct a survey of the specified material to ascertain whether asbestos is present in the specified material; or
(b)in the case of any building works relating to a building referred to in paragraph (1)(b), to conduct a survey of the building to ascertain whether asbestos or asbestos-containing material is fixed or installed in the building.
(3) Paragraphs (1)(a) and (2)(a) shall not apply to any work, operation or process involving a specified material where the employer or principal, as the case may be, referred to in paragraph (1) has documentary proof that that specified material does not contain asbestos.
(4)In addition to paragraph (1), where the Commissioner has reason to believe that asbestos or asbestos-containing material may in any other case —
(a)be present at any workplace; or
(b)be fixed or installed in any building in respect of which or any part of which a certificate of statutory completion or a temporary occupation permit is issued on or after 1st January 1991,
the Commissioner may, by order in writing, direct the employer of a person who carries out or is to carry out, or the principal under whose direction a person carries out or is to carry out, any work, operation or process at the workplace or any building works relating to any part of such a building, as the case may be, to appoint a competent person —
(i)in the case of any work, operation or process, to conduct a survey of the workplace to ascertain whether asbestos or asbestos-containing material is present at the workplace; or
(ii)in the case of any building works, to conduct a survey of the building to ascertain whether asbestos or asbestos-containing material is fixed or installed in the building.
(5) It shall be the duty of an employer or a principal to whom an order is issued under paragraph (4) to comply with the direction in the order.
Conduct of survey
4.—(1) It shall be the duty of a competent person who is appointed under regulation 3 by an employer or a principal to conduct a survey referred to in regulation 3(2) or (4) to exercise care and diligence in conducting the survey.
(2) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), it shall be the duty of a competent person —
(a)to take, with the consent of the owner or occupier of a workplace or building to which the survey relates, such samples of materials, substances, products and articles from the workplace or the building as may be necessary to test and analyse for the presence of asbestos;
(b)To ensure that the samples referred to in sub-paragraph (a) are tested and analysed by a recognised testing body; and
(c)to prepare, without delay, a report on the survey conducted.
Submission and keeping of survey report
5.—(1) It shall be the duty of a competent person who is appointed under regulation 3 by an employer or a principal to conduct a survey referred to in regulation 3(2) or (4) to submit, within 3 months after the date of being so appointed, to the employer or principal, as the case may be, the completed survey report and the results of all tests and analyses carried out under regulation 4.
(2) It shall be the duty of the employer or principal who receives any survey report and results from a competent person under paragraph (1) to keep the report and results for at least 2 years after the date of their receipt.
(3) Any competent person who contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(a)for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding $2,000; and
(b)for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
(4) Any employer or principal who contravenes paragraph (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.
PART III
GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR WORK INVOLVING ASBESTOS
Training for persons carrying out work involving asbestos
6.—(1)It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos to ensure that that person attends and successfully completes a training programme described in paragraph (2) —
(a)not earlier than 12 months immediately before that person starts to carry out the work; and
(b)at least once every 12 months after the date of completion of the last training programme for as long as that person carries out or is to carry out the work.
(2) The training programme referred to in paragraph (1) must include instructions to familiarise a participant of the programme with the hazards associated with work involving asbestos, and in particular, on the following matters:
(a)harmful properties of asbestos and its hazardous effects on health;
(b)materials, substances, products and articles which contain or are likely to contain asbestos;
(c)work, processes and operations which may result in exposure to asbestos and preventive measures to minimise such exposure;
(d)safe work practices and use of personal protective equipment;
(e)proper use, maintenance and limitations of respiratory protective equipment;
(f)asbestos decontamination procedures;
(g)asbestos waste-handling procedures;
(h)Such requirements for medical examinations as may be specified in the Workplace Safety and Health (Medical Examinations) Regulations 2011 (G.N. No. S 516/2011).
(3) It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos to keep records of every training programme undertaken by that person for at least 2 years after the date of completion of the training programme.
(4) The records of a training programme referred to in paragraph (3) shall include —
(a)information on the syllabus and content of the training programme; and
(b)the start and end dates of the training programme.
(5) Any responsible person who contravenes paragraph (1) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
(a)for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding $2,000; and
(b)for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
Personal protective equipment for persons carrying out work involving asbestos
7.—(1)It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos —
(a)to provide each such person with appropriate personal protective equipment; and
(b)to ensure that each such person uses the personal protective equipment when carrying out the work.
(2) The personal protective equipment referred to in paragraph (1) shall include —
(a)respiratory protective equipment; and
(b)disposable protective clothing.
(3) It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos to ensure that the requirements in paragraphs (4), (5) and (6) relating to the provision of the respiratory protective equipment and the requirement in paragraph (7) relating to the storage of personal protective equipment are complied with.
(4) A person shall not be provided under paragraph (1) with any respiratory protective equipment previously used by another person unless the equipment has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected since it was last used.
(5) Respiratory protective equipment provided under paragraph (1) must be tested to fit (referred to in this regulation as a fit-test) the person to whom it is provided —
(a)not earlier than 12 months immediately preceding the person’s first use of the respiratory protective equipment; and
(b)thereafter at least once every 12 months after the last fit‑test.
(6) Records of every fit-test referred to in paragraph (5) must be kept for at least 2 years after the date of the fit-test.
(7) Adequate facilities must be provided at the workplace for the proper storage of the personal protective equipment provided to, and the personal clothing of, persons carrying out any work involving asbestos, to prevent contamination.
Restricting access to asbestos work area
8.—(1) It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos to ensure that no person has access to that asbestos work area unless —
(a)that person carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos in that asbestos work area; and
(b)that person is using the personal protective equipment provided to him by the responsible person.
(2) It shall be the duty of the responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos to ensure —
(a)that the asbestos work area where the work is or is to be carried out is effectively barricaded or enclosed to delineate it from other areas in the workplace; and
(b)that warning signs are displayed at one or more conspicuous places of that asbestos work area to warn of the hazards of exposure to asbestos.
(3) Nothing in this regulation shall operate to interfere with or render unlawful any rescue work or other work necessary for the general safety of life or property.
Measures to minimise release or spread of asbestos during work
9.—(1)It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos to take such measures as are reasonably practicable to minimise the release of asbestos into the air arising from the work involving asbestos, including the use of one or more of the following:
(a)a wet method;
(b)engineering control such as a local exhaust ventilation system or containment;
(c)any other safe and appropriate work method or work practice designed to minimise the release of asbestos.
(2) Where a local exhaust ventilation system is used for the purposes of paragraph (1), it shall be the duty of the responsible person referred to in that paragraph to ensure that the local exhaust ventilation system is regularly maintained and tested for effectiveness.
(3) It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out any work involving asbestos to take such measures as are reasonably practicable to prevent the spread of asbestos beyond the asbestos work area where the work is or is to be carried out, including all of the following:
(a)enclosing the asbestos work area and maintaining a negative pressure within the asbestos work area;
(b)turning off and sealing all affected ventilation and air‑conditioning systems in the asbestos work area;
(c)filtering all asbestos-contaminated water through a high efficiency particulate filter.
(4) In this regulation —
“local exhaust ventilation system” means an exhaust ventilation system designed specifically to capture airborne asbestos, including an air cleaning device fitted with high efficiency particulate air filters;
“wet method” means the use of suitable wetting agents to soak or totally saturate any asbestos or asbestos-containing material, or the spraying of wetting agents on any asbestos or asbestos-containing material, but does not include the use of a high pressure water jet.
Decontamination of materials, etc., that are contaminated with asbestos
10.—(1) It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out or is to carry out in an asbestos work area any work involving asbestos to provide —
(a)at the asbestos work area adequate facilities to decontaminate all materials, tools and equipment present in that asbestos work area whether or not used during any work involving asbestos; and
(b)at an area adjacent to the asbestos work area adequate facilities to decontaminate —
(i)any person carrying out any work involving asbestos at that asbestos work area and his personal protective equipment immediately after that person leaves that asbestos work area; or
(ii)any person who has had access to that asbestos work area and his personal clothing worn during such access immediately after that person leaves that asbestos work area.
(2)It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out any work involving asbestos to ensure that no material, tool or equipment that is or may be contaminated with asbestos is removed from any asbestos work area where the work is or is to be carried out, unless —
(a)it is properly decontaminated and cleaned to be free of asbestos; or
(b)it is securely placed in a sealed container or a sealed bag, the exterior of which is properly decontaminated and labelled in accordance with regulation 12(2) and (3).
Cleanliness of asbestos work area
11. It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out any work involving asbestos to take such measures as are reasonably practicable to ensure that —
(a)there is no accumulation of dust or debris in the asbestos work area while the work involving asbestos is being carried out; and
(b)after the completion of the work or at the end of each working day, that asbestos work area is thoroughly cleaned so as to eliminate all dust and debris.
Storage and disposal of asbestos waste and contaminated matter
12.—(1) It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out any work involving asbestos to ensure that the requirements in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) relating to the storage and disposal of asbestos waste and any contaminated matter are complied with.
(2) Asbestos waste must be securely placed in a sealed container or a sealed bag, the exterior of which must be properly decontaminated before it is removed from any asbestos work area.
(3) Any container or bag containing asbestos waste or any contaminated matter must be affixed with one or more labels —
(a)that indicates the contents of the container or bag;
(b)that warns of the hazards of exposure to asbestos; and
(c)that is prominently displayed.
(4) Asbestos waste and any contaminated matter must be disposed of as soon as practicable.
(5) It shall be the duty of a responsible person with respect to any person who carries out any work involving asbestos to ensure that asbestos waste and any contaminated matter are disposed of in a manner that will not pose any risk to the safety or health of any person.
(6) In this regulation, “contaminated matter” means any material, tool or equipment referred to in regulation 10(1)(a) which is contaminated with asbestos.
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