Medical examinations for asbestos workers.

This note is a reminder that a requirement in The Asbestos at Work Regulations 2012 for occupational health surveillance for people working with asbestos containing materials came into force earlier this year. When the regulations came into force on 6^th April 2012 there was, among the provisions, a requirement that some work with materials containing asbestos that was previously not notifiable to the HSE would become notifiable. They also required that brief written records should be kept of this non-licensed but notifiable work such as a copy of the notification with a list of workers on the job, plus the level of likely exposure to asbestos those workers would be subjected to. The previous requirements for workers involved in licensed asbestos work to receive occupational health surveillance by a Doctor was extended to cover all employed or self-employed workers doing notifiable non-licensed work with asbestos. If any of your workforces are involved in this type of work they should by now be subject to occupational health assurance as required by the regulations. If they are not you should make arrangements now. If you need advice or information on the specific legal requirements call our 24 Hour Advice Service on 0844 892 2785; for advice on or to discuss your requirements for occupational health surveillance contact our Health Assured team on 0800 023 2669.