Safe removal and disposal of small amounts of asbestos-containing materials

If asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are removed and handled incorrectly, this could lead to serious risks to health and possible prosecution.

Managing the risks

To help you to identify the hazards associated with the removal and disposal of ACMs and the appropriate ways of controlling them, use our example Risk Assessment - Safe Removal and Disposal of Small Amounts of Asbestos-Containing Materials. It covers the generic hazards associated with this type of activity and suggests control measures to reduce risks to an acceptable level. You should ensure that your document only addresses “significant” hazards, i.e. any that could, and more importantly are likely to, cause an accident or injury.

Make your instructions clear

Don’t include activities in your document that simply don’t need to be there. Work to the principle that if there is any chance of your staff being unaware of the safe way of doing something, then you will need to make it clear in your document. Finally, always ensure that any control measures you identify and follow are decided upon the principle of “so far as is reasonably practicable”.

Note. The list of potential hazards is not exhaustive. However, for your risk assessment to be considered suitable and sufficient in the eyes of the law it must accurately reflect the “significant” hazards found when removing and disposing of small amounts of asbestos-containing materials.

Note. This risk assessment only deals with the removal and disposal of small amounts of asbestos-containing materials. Larger amounts should be removed and disposed of by a licensed asbestos removal contractor.