Asbestos tape in rewirable porcelain fuses and asbestos cement dividers are common features in old distribution equipment. Is there any guidance on this problem. Has measurement to determine the exposure when removing fuses been shown to excede the control limits laid down in the Asbestos Regulation?
The requirement is to undertake a risk assessment, inform personnel who may be affected, and maintain adequate records. The results of the risk assessment will determine the control methods which you put in place, for example if the material is in good condition and not likely to be damaged in normal operation, then you may choose to leave it in situ and monitor it's condition; if however the material is in poor condition or likely to become damaged in normal operation, you may choose to replace it. There is plentiful guidance on the subject of the management of asbestos, for example MDHS100 etc available through the HSE, who will also offer advice.
mike.wetton, I remember reading this interesting insert when I first came across it some time ago. It has again caught my eye because I am at the moment reporting on an installation with many fuse ways stuffed with asbestos. It’s a little late but I would be interested to know what you came across in your search.
Shauncostain. I couldn’t disagree more.
Firstly, ‘undertake a risk assessment, inform personnel who may be affected, and maintain adequate records.’ Yes and then file it all in the bin for the good it will do. This seems very much to me like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Secondly, whether the material is in good condition or not it is the nature of fuses that they ‘blow’ from time to time. The result of the device operating is that a small explosion occurs right into the asbestos matt. The outcome of this can only be that in each case the asbestos is aspirated into the distribution board enclosure. There it is readily available to be consumed by the person who is shortly to replace the fuse. No doubt the door of the board will be being opened quit soon after all this has taken place given the nature of most to ‘go and find out what the problem is’. I defy you to find anyone who will carry out a ‘risk assessment’ or ‘determine control methods’ when all the lights have just gone out.
Thirdly, so much for the ‘plentiful guidance’ on offer from the HSE. There is not one published word from that organisation on asbestos in fuse carriers. And when I have tried to approach them for guidance they seem to be disinterested in this particular problem.
Manufacturers of fuse boards are often more helpful pointing out that the only ever used Chrysolite (white asbestos) to make the inserts. When I have requested an assurance that the Chrysolite they used was not contaminated with traces of Amosite or Crocidolite (brown or blue asbestos) they are unwilling to offer any guarantee.
The result of fuses repeatedly operating over the year’s means that some of the older boards must be internally peppered with a fine layer of asbestos dust. I cannot understand why there is so little concern about this clear and present danger.
It is a pity that you do not have faith in the risk assessment process, once bitten twice shy perhaps?
Nevertheless, the duty to manage asbestos is clear and unambiguous. In your response you have already undertaken a risk assessment, and from what you have said, the suggested control measure is to replace the distribution boards.
In terms of guidance from the HSE, you could refer (amongst other documentation) to Asbestos Essentials, HSG213, ISBN 071761901.
Further guidance can be obtained from the British Institute of Occupational Hygienists (BIOH) tel. no. 01332 298087, Asbestos Testing and Consultancy (ATAC) tel. no. 01283 531126, and of course the HSE infoline tel. no. 08701 545500.
