Even with good planning, workers sometimes come across materials that have not been surveyed, or damage asbestos by accident.

What you do in the first few minutes makes all the difference. The right actions keep the fibres contained to a small area. The wrong ones, such as sweeping up the debris or carrying on, can spread asbestos through a whole building and onto everyone in it.

This module follows the emergency procedure in the HSE’s Asbestos essentials sheet EM1.

In this module you will learn:

• What to check before you start any job.
• What to do if you find a material that might contain asbestos.
• The emergency steps to take if you disturb asbestos.
• What to do if you or your clothing are contaminated.
• Who cleans up, and how the incident is reported.

Most accidental exposures happen because nobody checked first. Before you drill, cut, lift or open anything in a building built before 2000:

• Ask whether there is an asbestos register or survey, and check it for the area you will be working in.
• Make sure the survey is the right type for your job. Building work needs a refurbishment and demolition survey.
• Look out for warning labels and marked areas.
• If there is no information, treat the materials as asbestos until they are proven otherwise.

If in doubt, do not start.

Before entering a work area, check that the location and task match the information provided. A warning label may refer to a nearby material rather than the exact surface you have been asked to work on, and a plan may use a room name that has changed. Ask the person in charge to confirm the point of work and the limits of the authorised activity. Do not move a barrier, cover, stored item or labelled panel to gain access unless the work plan specifically allows it.

If access requires disturbing the building fabric, stop and check that the survey and assessment cover that activity. Take care not to lean tools or ladders against suspect materials or use them as a support. Where several trades share a room, agree who controls entry and how the work area will be handed back.

You may uncover a material during a job that you were not told about, for example old board behind a wall panel, lagging under the floor, or a cement pipe inside a boxing.

If you suspect it might contain asbestos:

• Stop work straight away. Do not break, drill or touch it.
• Do not try to take a sample yourself.
• Tell your supervisor or the person in charge of the building.
• Do not restart work until the material has been tested, and you have been told it is safe.

Sometimes the survey says one thing and the work team sees another. A wall may contain a second layer, a ceiling void may not have been opened, or a repair may have concealed a material since the inspection. A worker may also find an unfamiliar board where the plan shows only masonry. Do not resolve that disagreement by guessing, drilling a test hole or taking a piece away. Stop the affected task, keep people clear and contact the supervisor or the person in control of the building.

The responsible person can compare the finding with survey scope and arrange competent assessment or sampling if needed. Work should restart only when the uncertainty has been addressed and the instructions and controls fit what is actually present. Record the location clearly so that later workers do not repeat the same discovery. If the difference reflects an incomplete survey, the information for future jobs may also need updating.

If you accidentally damage material that is or might be asbestos, follow these steps:

• Stop work immediately. Do not carry on, and do not try to tidy up.
• Turn off any power tools carefully, without shaking off the dust.
• Warn others nearby, and get everyone out of the area straight away.
• Keep calm. A single short exposure carries a low risk, but you must stop it getting worse.

Your priority is to stop more fibres being released and to keep people away.

Once everyone is out of the area:

• Close doors and windows to the area, and switch off any heating or ventilation that could spread the dust, if this can be done safely.
• Put up warning signs or barriers to stop anyone going in.
• Never sweep up the debris, use an ordinary vacuum cleaner or blow it away. These spread fibres into the air.
• Report the incident at once to your supervisor, or the person who controls the building.

Nobody should go back in until the area has been cleaned and checked by competent people.

After a suspected release, protect people while avoiding actions that could spread dust. Warn anyone nearby from a safe position and use the agreed emergency contact method. Do not walk through the affected space to place a sign or fetch equipment. If it is safe to do so without entering the contaminated area, close a door or prevent access from outside. Do not operate fans, sweep, brush or use a normal vacuum cleaner.

Follow the site procedure about ventilation equipment; do not take risks trying to reach a control switch in the affected zone. Keep visitors and other trades away until competent people decide what work is needed and when the area can be used again. Give the person in charge a precise location and description of the material and activity. A calm, accurate warning helps prevent a second exposure during the response.

If dust or debris has landed on you or your clothing:

• Stay calm, and do not brush it off or shake your clothes.
• Stay near the area so you do not spread the dust, and wait for advice.
• If you can, wipe exposed skin with a damp cloth, then remove your outer clothing carefully, turning it inside out.
• Seal the clothing in a heavy-duty plastic bag. It must be treated as asbestos waste, not taken home or washed.
• Shower and wash your hair as soon as possible, then put on clean clothes.

Make a note of what happened, so it can be added to your records.

If you think dust has reached your skin, hair or clothing, resist the urge to brush it away or shake the fabric. Those actions can put settled material back into the air. Stay where the responsible person can assist and avoid walking through clean parts of the building. Follow the site emergency procedure and wait for competent advice about decontamination. If the procedure allows, exposed skin may be gently wiped with a damp cloth, but do not improvise a full clean-up or reuse a contaminated rag.

Clothing and wipes may need to be handled as asbestos waste. Do not place affected workwear in a domestic washing machine, a personal locker or a vehicle. Tell the supervisor whether anyone else was in contact with the same surface or equipment. The goal is to limit transfer while the employer arranges a suitable response.

Cleaning up after an asbestos incident is specialist work. It must only be done by a competent asbestos contractor, using the right protective equipment and methods.

• A type H vacuum cleaner, designed for asbestos, and damp wiping are used, never dry sweeping.
• All debris, used cloths and contaminated clothing are double bagged and labelled as asbestos waste.
• Asbestos waste is hazardous waste. It must be taken away by a licensed carrier to an authorised site.
• The area is inspected, and often air tested, before people are allowed back in.

Material removed during asbestos work is not ordinary building waste. It can include fragments, dust, used wipes, disposable protective clothing and equipment that cannot be cleaned for reuse. The work plan should explain how waste is collected, packaged, labelled, stored and transferred so fibres are not released during handling or transport. Workers who are not trained for the task should not repackage a torn bag or move an unlabelled pile.

Keep people away and notify the supervisor if packaging is damaged or waste has escaped. The organisation arranging disposal must use the required waste route and records for the material and location. Do not put asbestos waste in a skip, leave it beside a general waste store or take it home for later disposal. Waste arrangements need to be agreed before the work begins; if suitable packaging or collection cannot be provided, the task is not ready to start. Containment continues after the material leaves the work area.

Every incident where asbestos may have been disturbed must be reported to your employer, even if you think the exposure was small.

• Your employer should investigate how it happened and update the risk assessment and the asbestos register.
• Some incidents must be reported to the HSE under the RIDDOR regulations.
• A record of the incident and of who was exposed should be kept, so that it can be added to health records.

Reporting is not about blame. It protects you, your colleagues and the next person to work in that building.

An incident review should establish what happened and how similar events can be prevented. Record the time, location, task, material description, tools used, people present and actions taken. Avoid unsupported conclusions about the material or the amount of exposure; competent assessment can establish what is known. The review may find that the register was out of date, the survey did not cover the work area, the job changed without a pause, or a handover failed.

Corrective action should address that cause. For example, the organisation may need to revise a permit step, improve access to the register, brief another contractor or arrange a further survey. Communicate the relevant lesson to workers who may encounter the same location or task, while respecting personal information. Where reporting to an enforcing authority is required, the employer must follow the applicable reporting rules.