Management of Exposure to Asbestos in Workplace Buildings and structures: Approved Code of Practice

25 November 2020

The ‘Management of Exposure to Asbestos in Workplace Buildings and Structures: Approved Code of Practice’ (Asbestos ACoP), last revised in 2015, has been updated.

The Asbestos ACoP provides practical guidance for those who have duties under part 2 of the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989 and who have responsibilities for workplaces or are involved with work with asbestos-containing materials.

Whilst the ACoP has primarily been revised to reflect updated contact details for the Health and Safety Inspectorate and to remove outdated references, the opportunity has been taken to provide additional guidance on ventilation of enclosures (paragraphs 116 and 118). The requirement for an individual face fit test as part of the initial selection of respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and then at least once every 12 months is also explicitly set out (paragraph 180).

Legal status of an ACoP

An ACoP provides practical guidance on how to meet the general legal requirements set out in the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989. It has a special legal status in that if you follow the guidance you will be doing enough to comply with the Law in respect of the matters to which the ACoP extends.

You may use alternative methods to those set out in the ACoP, but if you are prosecuted for a breach of the Law, and it is proved that you did not follow the relevant provisions of the ACoP, you will need to show that you have complied with the Law in some other way or the Court will find you at fault.

An electronic copy of the Asbestos ACoP is available.