Asbestos Notifications
If you or your company have not previously submitted a notification for higher risk work, please contact the HSA Contact Centre (mail contactus@hsa.ie ) and request to speak to an Occupational Hygiene Inspector prior to submitting the notification. |
Why and When do I need to Notify the HSA about asbestos work?
The risk associated with exposure to asbestos relates to the possibility that the fibres within the asbestos containing material (ACM) can become released into the air and are then inhaled. Breathing in air containing asbestos fibres can lead to asbestos-related diseases (mainly cancers of the chest and lungs). Work involving the removal, repair or encapsulation of asbestos containing materials can result in the release of asbestos fibres into the atmosphere placing asbestos workers at risk.
Notification is required where the planned asbestos-related work activity will expose, or could possibly expose, workers to a concentration of asbestos fibres in air in excess of the exposure limit value of 0.1 fibres per cm3 and/or where the work activity does not meet the criteria set out in regulation 5 (b), i.e. short duration maintenance works with non-friable ACMs, removal of non-degraded bonded materials without deterioration, and encapsulation or sealing of non-friable ACMs in good condition.
Regulation 11 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations 2006 requires an employer to prepare a written notification to the Authority. It must be received by the Authority at least 14 days prior to the start of such activities.
How do I notify the HSA about asbestos work?
Notification can be made using the Authority’s notification form or by other equivalent means. Notifications and the plan of work/method statement for the proposed works may be submitted:
- By email to asbestos.notif@hsa.ie (please include site county in the email subject line)
- In writing to the Health and Safety Authority, Occupational Hygiene Unit, Metropolitan Building, James Joyce Street, Dublin 1
If using means of notification other than the Authority’s notification form, then all of the information as detailed in Schedule 3 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Exposure to Asbestos) Regulations, must be included in the notification. This information is a legal requirement. In the event of incomplete information being submitted, the 14 day notification period will not commence until all information has been received by the Authority.
Where there is a material change in the nature of the work to which the original notification relates which results in the original notification no longer being valid, for example, the work ceases before the planned date, the original work process is altered etc. the employer must inform the Authority in writing and submit a new notification for the work activity along with the reasons in writing for the new notification.
Employers must keep copies of all notifications and plans of work submitted to the Authority. The Notification should be available on site during the course of the work.