Last Updated on 14th December 2017 by Admin

New Zealand bans import of asbestos containing materials

There’s good news for asbestos campaigners as New Zealand bans import of asbestos containing materials.

The ban includes the manufacture of, supply, storage, installation of, sale or transport of any products containing asbestos.

The asbestos ban came into place on 1st October 2016.  It is now illegal to import any materials containing asbestos into the country.

New Zealand are the 58th country to have banned the deadly substance.

But despite the ban, New Zealand will still have a problem with asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) still being common throughout their infrastructure.

Buildings built before the year 2000 will still more than likely contain asbestos.

According to records, approximately 170 people die each year in New Zealand from asbestos-related diseases.

New Approved Code of Practice

As a result of the ban, New Zealand now has a new guide for both managing asbestos and removing it within the workplace.

The “Approved Code of Practice for the Management and Removal of Asbestos” is the 1st of it’s kind in the country, and it is hoped to help cut asbestos-related deaths by half by the year 2024.

This new code came into effect on 3rd November 2016.

Senior Communications Advisor for WorkSafe, Julia Paterson-Fourie, said, “New Zealand’s efforts to reduce asbestos-related deaths by 50 percent by 2040 will primarily be achieved through a substantial reduction in workplace exposures to respirable asbestos fibers.”

WorkSafe were behind the development of the new code and relied upon the help and contribution of trade unions, asbestos industry experts and employer organizations to help to put it together.

The code has been specifically written in an easy to follow format and is both website friendly and mobile responsive so that more people are able to read it.

New guide details recommendations

The new guide details certain standards that should be followed and the five steps that should be taken for managing exposure to asbestos.

For example, the recommended maximum concentration of airbourne asbestos over any eight-hour period is 0.1 fibers per milliliter of air.

All workplaces must adhere to this maximum level.

If a worker is in any environment where the level of exposure is higher than this, eg whilst carrying out asbestos removal, then they must wear the suitable PPE (Protective clothing and equipment)

Other types of work where PPE must be worn will include:-

• Sampling
• Maintenance
• Research and analysis
• Firefighting and other emergency work
• Mining
• Working with asbestos-contaminated soil

The most crucial step though when it comes to managing asbestos exposure is being able to identify asbestos and ACM’s in the 1st place.

 

Source of article:-  www.asbestos.com/news/2016/11/09/new-zealand-asbestos-guide/

 

Duty holders and employers have a legal responsibility to manage asbestos in their building so as not to put employees at risk. Contact our Armco office for asbestos management and refurbishment/ demolition surveys on 0161 763 3727 or by visiting https://www.armco.org.uk/

Alternatively, for all your asbestos training needs call 0161 761 4424 or visit https://www.armcoasbestostraining.co.uk/ for more information or to book a training course.

Published Nov 14, 2016