The Safety Network (Africa) trading as Safenet (Africa)

01/03/2026

16/08/2022

EXPLANATORY NOTICE – ASBESTOS IN PLACE ASSESSMENT AND ASBESTOS INVENTORY

As previously reported the Department of Employment and Labour on the 10th of November 2020 promulgated new Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020. Since the date of promulgation, a number of articles have been circulated by various groups or consultants informing employers that:

1. All Asbestos-containing material must be removed and be safely disposed of by no later than the 9th of May 2022; or

2. That all employers are required to by the 9th of May 2022 be in position of certain documents detailing any Asbestos-containing material present on their premises.

Unfortunately, most of the articles I’ve seen contained numerous factual inaccuracies. The purpose of this explanatory notice is to explain the legal requirements which will take effect on the 9th of May 2022, and to clarify any misconceptions other articles or publications may have created.

The first issue that should be dealt with is the question of “by what date MUST all Asbestos or Asbestos-containing material be removed?” The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 nor any other South African acts or regulations DO NOT contain a legal requirement which requires the removal and safe disposal of all Asbestos-containing material by a certain date. The new Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2022 do contain numerous requirements which makes the maintenance of Asbestos-containing material difficult if not impossible. Above mentioned requirements do however not prevent employers from keeping Asbestos-containing material on the premises should the material be maintained and be found to be in a fair condition.

On the date of promulgation all but two of the legal requirements contained in the new Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 came into effect. Regulation 27 of the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 states that the two regulations will only take effect 18 months after the date of promulgation. As the regulations were promulgated on the 10th of November 2020 these two regulations will take effect on the 9th of May 2022.

The one regulation that takes effect on this date applies to Asbestos warning labels and signs. The signs referred to in this regulation were available on the market from the date of promulgation and most employers and registered Asbestos contractors have started using these signs since the regulations were promulgated.

The second legal requirement and the one that caused most of the confusion, requires that all employers be in possession of a report detailing the identification of Asbestos in place for a wokplace which should have been conducted prior to the 9th of May 2022. This regulation requires that all employers conduct or contract the services of a competent person or company to conduct a full assessment of the property as to determine the presence of any Asbestos or Asbestos-containing material present on their premises or used in the construction of buildings or structures on the premises. Conducting the identification of Asbestos in place assessment will require that a person knowledgeable on Asbestos and Asbestos-containing material conduct an inspection of all buildings and structures as to identify any Asbestos or Asbestos-containing material present on site. Samples are to be taken of material presumed to contain Asbestos. Bulk samples collected are to be analysed as to determine the presence and type of Asbestos present in the sample as this information must be detailed in the reports to be drafted.

Based on the information gathered during the site assessment and the lab report of the bulk samples analysed the following reports or documents for which the contents are prescribed should be drafted:

1. Inventory of asbestos in place. The Inventory of Asbestos in place report should, to only list a few contain information on:
a. The types of Asbestos-containing material identified during the site inspection;
b. Location on site where Asbestos-containing material was found;
c. Quantity of Asbestos-containing material. The report should typically list all the types of Asbestos-containing material identified (Roof sheets, gutters, down pipes and others) and contain detail on the quantity of Asbestos-containing material to be expected for each of the types of Asbestos-containing material identified; and
d. The condition of the Asbestos-containing material identified and the extend of deterioration of the material identified should be detailed in the report.

2. Asbestos Risk Assessment - Based on the outcome of the inventory of Asbestos in place Assessment detailed above a risk assessment must be conducted for each of the Asbestos-containing material identified. The legislation is prescriptive on the factors to be considered when conducting the risk assessment. The outcome of the risk assessment conducted must be included in the Inventory of Asbestos in place resulting in the report in all likelihood containing a different risk rating for each of the types of Asbestos-containing material identified. The report could for instance state that the risk associated with the gutters installed on Building A is high whereas a low risk was assigned to the Asbestos-containing roof of the same building due to the fair condition of the roof;

3. Asbestos Management Plan - The Asbestos Management Plan could basically be regarded as an internal policy detailing a range of procedures to be complied with. The Asbestos Management Plan will typically contain procedures to be complied with in the event of:

a. An incident involving Asbestos-containing material occur. A typical example would be an incident where a roof sheet got damage. In such an event the Asbestos Management Plan should contain information on the procedure to be followed when reporting and repairing, or prior to, and during the replacement of the damaged roof sheet;

b. An emergency such as damage caused to an Asbestos-containing material due to strong winds. As mentioned above the document should prescribe the procedure to be followed when remedying the situation; and

c. Asbestos-containing material be repaired or be removed.

4. Asbestos phase out plan - As previously mentioned the legislation does not prescribe a date by which buildings must be Asbestos free. The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 however requires that all employers develop and implement an Asbestos phase out plan. Effectively this will mean that an employer will have to, based on the contents of the inventory of Asbestos in place and Asbestos risk assessment conducted, establish their own dates by when the Asbestos-containing material identified will be removed. The projected date of removal will mainly be determined by the outcome of the Asbestos risk assessment. The employer would for instance have no choice but to consider removing all Asbestos-containing material found to be in a poor condition and assigned a high-risk rating within a short period after receipt of the Inventory of Asbestos in place and risk assessment. All Asbestos-containing material found to be in a fair condition during above mentioned assessment could be scheduled for removal later. As no date for removal is prescribed by legislation, employers, can in the Asbestos phase out plan e.g. state that well maintained material will only be removed 10 years from the date on which the assessment was conducted.

For the Department of Employment and Labour this phrase out plan will in all probability be the most important document they will ask for during a site inspection. Should the employer have failed to remove Asbestos-containing material by the due date stated in the Asbestos phase out plan the Department of Employment and Labour could serve a notice compelling employers to remove the said Asbestos-containing material.
The contents of the above-mentioned documents are prescribed in detail in the Asbestos Abatement Regulations 3, 4, 5 and 6. Above-mentioned only contain some of the legal requirements and the full contents of above-mentioned regulation should be considered when conducting the required assessment or when drafting the prescribed reports and risk assessments.

Based on above-mentioned information the following questions may arise:

1. Who could conduct the required inventory of Asbestos in place assessment and draft documentation detailed above? - The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 prescribe that the required assessment must be conducted by a competent person who has sufficient knowledge, training and experience in the assessments to be conducted. Effectively this could mean that any person with such credentials could be utilized to conduct the required assessment.

The initial assessment will however only be as good as the knowledge of the assessor at the time of conducting the assessment. From experience we have found that unless properly trained it is highly likely that not all Asbestos or Asbestos-containing material will be identified should an expert in the field not be contracted for this service. Few people would for instance know that Asbestos was used in the manufacturing of vinyl floor tile, waterproofing material, fire doors, toilet cisterns to only mention a few. Should this be the case with the person contracted to conduct the assessment it is highly likely that many Asbestos-containing material may be overlooked.

The legislation requires that copies of the Inventory of Asbestos in place be made available to all contractors contracted to perform work on site. This provision will apply irrespective whether or not the contractor will perform Asbestos work or not. Should the Inventory of Asbestos in place be inaccurate in that certain Asbestos-containing material which work is to be performed on not being detailed in the report, the person who contracted the services of the contractor could be criminally charged for exposing the contractor’s staff to Asbestos.

The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 further states that should the initial assessment not have been conducted by an Approved Asbestos Inspection Authority the services of an Approved Asbestos Inspection Authority must be contracted to review all existing Asbestos related documents at least every six years. It is unlikely that any Approved Asbestos Inspection Authority will merely review existing documents drafted by someone else. For this reason, it may be advisable to contract the services of an Approved Asbestos Inspection Authority as to conduct the initial survey. This practice should ensure that all Asbestos or Asbestos-containing material present on site were identified during the initial assessment and the available inventory of Asbestos in place and Asbestos risk assessment will contain detail on all Asbestos or Asbestos-containing material present on site;

2. How often must the premises be re-assessed and all documents be reviewed? - The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 states that the inventory of Asbestos in place and Asbestos risk assessment must be reviewed every two years. As previously mentioned, the services of an Approved Asbestos Inspection Authority must be contracted every six years should the employer decide to conduct the initial assessment themselves.

In line with the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 the Asbestos Management Plan and Phase-Out Plan must be reviewed every eight years; and

3. Whose responsibility is it to conduct the required Asbestos assessments should the property be leased? – Unlike other legislation the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 in most cases requires of users to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 and incorporated Regulations. The user is defined as the person who has the right and control over the use of the premises and who uses the premises for his own benefit. In the event of the property being leased the lessee will be regarded as being the user. In the case of the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 the regulations require that the employer be responsible for above mentioned assessment and reports. As the lessor could not be regarded as the employer for the staff employed on site the lessee will effectively be held responsible for compliance to above mentioned legal requirements.

Considering the knowledge needed to conduct a proper inventory of Asbestos in place and the detailed information required when drafting the inventory of Asbestos in place, Asbestos Management Plan and related documents it may be advisable to contract the services of a Department of Employment and Labour Approved Asbestos Inspection Authority for this purpose. Please feel free to contact the office of SafeNet Africa should you require the services of a Department of Employment and Labour Approved Asbestos Inspection Authority for the required inventory of Asbestos in place and the drafting of the legally prescribed documentation.

16/08/2022

EXPLANATORY NOTICE – MAY SOLAR INSTALLATIONS BE INSTALLED ON ASBESTOS-CONTAINING ROOFS

We are often approached by clients who enquire whether or not it is legal to install a solar installation on top of an asbestos containing roof. The short answer to the above-mentioned question is NO, solar installations may for the reasons listed below not be installed on asbestos-containing roofs:

1. The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 as promulgated under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 has as the name suggest as its main goal the abatement of Asbestos. Installing a solar installation on top of an existing Asbestos containing roof will therefore be in direct conflict with the intended purpose and intention of the Asbestos Abatement Regulation, 2020;

2. To achieve above mentioned goal the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 contains a number of prohibitions. When installing a solar installation on a roof, brackets need to be installed as to hold the solar panels in position. Installing these brackets will require drilling of holes through the asbestos-containing roofing material as to fasten these brackets. Asbestos abatement regulation 24(f) states “no person may use electrical power tools, such as angle grinder, or any other fast-moving equipment to cut, grind or drill Asbestos containing material”.

As per above mentioned legal requirement the installation of the brackets or frames holding the solar panels will be regarded as an illegal act which could lead to criminal charges being brought against the Asbestos client (Person for whom Asbestos work is being performed). Some installers may argue that as to prevent holes from having to be drilled the existing roof nails will be removed and be replaced with special nails to which the solar panel brackets could be attached. If this is the argument it should be noted that the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 defines asbestos work as “means work that exposes or is likely to expose any employee to asbestos dust, including transporting, storing, removing, handling, treating, repairing and disposing of asbestos”. During the removal and replacement of all roof nails, asbestos dust will be released and any such action will therefore be regarded as Asbestos work.

3. Some contractors may argue that solar installations could be installed on asbestos-containing roofing material should the material prior to installation have been encapsulated or be painted. This argument doesn’t hold much water as:

a. Installation of the solar panel brackets will still require the drilling of holes through the asbestos-containing roofing material; and

b. Encapsulated or painting the roof will not prevent asbestos fibres from being released when holes are drilled. As soon as the drill bit enters the Asbestos containing roof sheets the paint or encapsulated medium will not prevent the release of asbestos dust or Asbestos containing shavings from being released and entering the roof void; and

4. The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 requires that all owners or occupants of buildings must by no later than the 9th of May 2022 be in position of an asbestos phase out plan. Although the legislation does not prescribe a set date by when all asbestos must be removed, the legislation requires that the owner or occupant self-determine these dates based on the condition of the Asbestos containing material and risk assessment conducted. The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 is very specific on the factors to be considered when conducting the risk assessment. One factor to be considered is the number of persons who may potentially be exposed to asbestos. Solar panel installations will surely result in more foot traffic on the roof, in that inspections or repairs will be required to the installation. Due to the higher foot traffic more persons will potentially be exposed to asbestos resulting in the higher risk rating having to be assigned to this roof. The higher the risk the sooner the owner will be required to remove the asbestos containing roofing material.

It is clear from above mentioned requirement that the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 has as its main goal the abatement of all asbestos and asbestos containing material. Having to draft an asbestos phase out plan also forces owners and occupants to determine dates by which all asbestos containing material will be removed. Owners and occupants may be able to for a short period delay the removal of asbestos containing material, but the removal of all asbestos containing material is unavoidable. Installing a solar panel system on an existing asbestos containing material may in the short term be a cheaper solution, but in the long term, cost the owner or occupant much more than the initial saving.

01/06/2022

Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 amendments as published on the 20th of May 2022

On the 20th of May 2022 the Department of Employment and Labour promulgated minor changes to the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 as initially promulgated on the 10th of November 2020. The purpose of this explanatory notice is to explain the amendments and to discuss the effect these changes may have on your operations. Above mentioned amendment gazette contains the following 4 amendments:

1. Amendment 1 - The definition for the OEL for Asbestos was amended by inclusion of the words highlighted in bold below. “OEL for Asbestos – means an occupational exposure limit of 0,1 regulated Asbestos fibres per milliliter of air over a continuous period of four hours measured in accordance with HSG 248”. Those familiar with AIA Activities will know that we normally perform air monitoring over a period of at least 4 hours. It is unclear why this amendment was needed as the standard (HSG 248) mentioned already prescribes not only the flow rate at which monitoring equipment should operate but also the prescribed four (4) hour monitoring period. Considering the notice recently issued by the Department of Employment and Labour in which clients are warned about the use of unregistered / accredited AIA’s we can only assume that this amendment was needed as to prevent AIA’s from doing monitoring over periods shorter than 4 hours. Even though the legislation allows for short term monitoring to be performed in exceptional cases we have always maintained that monitoring performed over a period of four (4) hours or more will provide more accurate exposure results and for this reason will only monitor over a period of four (4) hours or more;

2. Amendment 2 - The original Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 stated that any Asbestos training must be conducted by persons deemed competent by the chief inspector (Department of Employment and Labour). I assume the Department of Employment and Labour was inundated with requests from consultants / trainers requesting the department to declare them competent. In doing so the department effectively endorsed the consultant / trainer and I can only assume the said consultant / trainer would have used the letter received as to generate more work and most likely would have used the letter of endorsement received from the Department of Employment and Labour to claim others to be incompetent as they are not able to produce such an endorsement letter.

The regulations do contain a definition for a competent person and in a guideline issued by the Department of Employment and Labour, the department goes further in defining the persons they would regard as competent to offer Asbestos training.

The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 defines a competent person as “Competent person” means a person who-
a. has, in respect of the work or task to be performed, the required knowledge, training and experience and, where applicable, qualifications specific to asbestos work or related tasks: Provided that, where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in terms of the National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 (Act No. 67 of 2008), those qualifications and that training must be regarded as the required qualifications and training; and
b. is familiar with the Act and the applicable regulations made under the Act;

In a guideline issued by the Department of Employment and Labour the following question is asked “Who is considered “competent” to provide asbestos training?”. Additional to the definition of competent person listed above the department in the guideline states that they will regard the following persons as competent to provide asbestos training:
a. Occupational Hygienist (all three levels of SAIOH registration);
b. Occupational Health Practitioner; and
c. Or anyone that are able to prove their competence.

Considering above, I would suggest the services of an AIA be used for any Asbestos training as most persons registered with SAIOH (Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene) will be employed by an AIA; and

3. Amendments 3 and 4 – The original regulations required that the Department of Employment and Labour within seven (7) days after receipt of the Asbestos Plan of Work and client notification in the form of an Annexure 2, acknowledge receipt by sending a formal written notice to the AIA who submitted the prescribed documents. The legislation then further requires that the AIA must ensure that such confirmation letters be issued. Unfortunately for every 20 Asbestos Plans of Work submitted we were lucky should we have received one such confirmation letter. It is also silly to require of the AIA to ensure that such confirmation letters be received considering that the AIA would have no control over the actions on the part of the department.

With the amendments published the department merely deleted the regulations which requires of them to acknowledge receipt of Asbestos work notifications. Any Asbestos work properly registered with the office of the Department of Employment and Labour could therefore commence seven (7) days after submission of the prescribed documents. The following regulations were deleted:

a. Asbestos Abatement Regulation 10(5). Notification of asbestos work - The relevant Chief Director: Provincial Operations must ensure that acknowledgement of receipt is provided, in writing, to the employer, self-employed person or asbestos client within the seven-day notification period”; and

a. Asbestos Abatement Regulation 13(e). “Duties of approved inspection authorities for asbestos work - An approved inspection authority involved in type 2 or type 3 asbestos work must receive acknowledgement from the Chief Director: Provincial Operations within the seven-day period”.

27/11/2021

Legal requirements to be complied with when performing Type 2 or 3 Asbestos work

The purpose of this memo is to explain the legal requirements contained in the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 as promulgated under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 applicable to Type 2 or Type 3 Asbestos work. Asbestos Work is defined by the legislation as “Means work that exposes or is likely to expose an employee to asbestos dust, including transporting, storing, removing, handling, treating, repairing and disposing of asbestos”. The removal or repairs of Asbestos or Asbestos containing material (ACM) such as roof sheets, gutters and down pipes will typically constitute Asbestos work.

Before detailing the legal requirements to be complied with prior to, during and after Asbestos work is performed it may be important to note that the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 makes a distinction between three types of Asbestos work referred to as Type 1, 2 or 3 Asbestos work. As can be expected different legal requirements will apply depending on the type of Asbestos work to be performed. See below definitions contained in the Asbestos Abatement regulations, 2020 which explains the different types of Asbestos work.

TYPES OF ASBESTOS WORK

Type 1 Asbestos work : Means:
a. painting of asbestos cement products in a manner that does not require surface preparation and does not cause the release of asbestos fibres; or
b. the removal of less than 10 square metres of asbestos cement products or equivalent gutters and piping or asbestos insulating board, where removal work may not be repeated on the same site within a period of six months;.

Type 2 asbestos work : Means-
a. the repair or encapsulation of asbestos cement products in a manner that does not require surface preparation; or
b. the removal of asbestos cement products or asbestos insulating board;.

Type 3 Asbestos work ; Means the removal, repair or encapsulation of any asbestos and asbestos-containing material.

As per above mentioned definitions by far the bulk of all Asbestos work performed such as the removal of bonded material such as roof sheets, gutters and rainwater down pipes will constitute Type 2 Asbestos work. Removal of any Asbestos containing material other than those mentioned above such as Asbestos lagging or material where friable Asbestos fibres could be expected should be regarded as Type 3 Asbestos work. The purpose of this explanatory note is to explain more important legal requirements to be complied with when planning and performing Type 2 or 3 Asbestos work.

The following legal requirement are to be complied with prior to, during and after performing Type 2 and 3 Asbestos work:

1. Prior to any Asbestos work being performed the Asbestos client (Person for whom Asbestos work is being performed / Owner of property) must ensure that an Asbestos in place assessment be conducted and an Asbestos Inventory be drafted and be handed to all contractors contracted to perform work on site. The Asbestos Inventory should contain a risk assessment and prescribed information detailing all ACM present on site. Knowing the location of all ACM will ensure that the appointed contractors do not by accident remove material which contains Asbestos. In line with the legal requirements the above-mentioned Asbestos Inventory and Risk Assessment must also be provided to the appointed AIA and RAC contracted for Asbestos work;

2. In line with the provisions of the Construction Regulations, 2014 as promulgated under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, client are required to provide all contractors contracted for construction work with a baseline risk assessment and site and project specific health and safety specification. These documents must be made available prior to tendering and failure to provide the appointed contractors with the documents listed above could result in the client (Person for whom construction work is to be performed) being held liable for actions or non-conformances on the part of contractors. Please note that this legal requirement do not apply to single storey home owners occupied by the owner, but will apply in full to the owners of double storey residential properties;

3. The client to appoint a Department of Employment and Labour Registered Asbestos Contractor (RAC) which as the minimum holds registration as a Type 2 or 3 Asbestos contractor. A Type 2 RAC may only perform Type 1 or 2 Asbestos work where as a Type 3 Asbestos RAC may perform all types of Asbestos work. On registration the Department of Employment and Labour will issue a formal registration certificate to the RAC. Any contractor not able to produce a registration certificate issued by the DoEL is simply not properly registered and any type 2 or 3 Asbestos work performed by them will be regarded as “illegal” Asbestos work.



The appointed RAC will be responsible for the:

a. Safe removal of all Asbestos containing material (ACM) in line with the requirements contained in the approved Asbestos Plan of Work; and

b. The safe disposal of all ACM removed from buildings on the premises. In some cases the RAC may sub-contract the transportation and safe disposal to a registered waste transporter;

4. The client to appoint a Department of Employment and Labour Approved Inspection Authority (AIA). Only companies in possession of SANAS (South African National Accreditation System) Accreditation as an Inspection Body for Occupational Health and Hygiene may apply to the Department of Employment and Labour for registration as an Approved Inspection Authority (AIA). As with the RAC’s an AIA must be able to produce at request copies of certificates.


The appointed AIA will be responsible for the:

a. Drafting and submitting to the Department of Employment and Labour an Asbestos Plan of Work (PoW);

b. Conduct air monitoring while Asbestos work is performed; and

c. Conduct a final clearance inspection and air monitoring on completion of Asbestos removal and issue an Asbestos Clearance Certificate;

5. Prior to any Type 2 or 3 Asbestos work being performed an Annexure 2 as per the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 must be completed in full and be signed by both the client and appointed RAC after which this notification must be submitted to the office of the Department of Employment and Labour. The notification in the form of Annexure 2 should reach the office of the Department of Employment and Labour at least 7 days prior to the start of any Asbestos work. Effectively Asbestos work may not commence should the Department of Employment and Labour not have been informed of the project in the form of Annexure 2;

6. The client is also required to as per the National Waste Information Regulations, 2012 promulgated under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 register as a Hazardous Waste Generator. This is due to the fact that most Asbestos work projects will result in more than 20kg of hazardous waste being removed from the site per day. On registration using the electronic portal the computer system will generate a certificate. This certificate will be vital when safely disposing of the waste as hazardous waste sites will not accept waste for disposal without this certificate;

7. As previously mentioned, an Asbestos Plan of Work (PoW) must be drafted by the appointed AIA. The PoW will contain the methodology and requirements to be complied with during removal of Asbestos. The PoW must after having been signed by the AIA, RAC and Asbestos client be submitted to the office of the Department of Employment and Labour. This PoW must be submitted to above mentioned office at least 7 days prior to the start of any Asbestos work on the premises. As the notification period is the same the appointed AIA will normally submit not only the PoW, but also the Annexure 2 as previously mentioned;

8. On completion of the compulsory 7 days submission period the Asbestos work may commence. To ensure the safety of the public the appointed RAC will create a regulated Asbestos area around the building or area from which Asbestos is to be removed. This regulated Asbestos area will be large enough as to prevent members of the public from being overexposed to airborne Asbestos fibres and will be properly demarcated and marked with safety signs warning others about the Asbestos risks. On completion of site preparation and while wearing the required personal protective equipment the Asbestos workers will commence with the safe removal of Asbestos or ACM;

9. While Asbestos work is performed the AIA will establish monitoring points as to measure airborne concentrations of Asbestos fibres. The monitoring points will not only measure Asbestos workers exposure, but will also measure airborne Asbestos concentrations inside the building from where ACM is removed and on the perimeter of the regulated Asbestos area establish. Monitoring results should serve as proof that Asbestos work was done in a safe manner without endangering the health and safety of neighbours and persons moving in areas outside of the regulated Asbestos area established;

10. On completion of Asbestos removal all waste will be transported to a properly registered waste site for safe disposal. On disposal a safe disposal certificate will be issued by the waste site which will serve as proof that waste was properly disposed of; and

11. On completion of Asbestos removal, the appointed AIA will conduct a final visual clearance inspection and clearance air monitoring as to determine if the property is safe for re-occupation. On completion of the final inspection and air monitoring an Asbestos Clearance Certificate will be issued by the appointed AIA.

It should be noted that the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 imposes specific legal duties on Asbestos clients which are to be complied with when performing Asbestos work. From above mentioned it should be clear that any Type 2 or 3 Asbestos work requires various documents, substantial planning and various notifications to government departments. Any Asbestos work done without these documents, notification or using contractors not properly registered will be regarded as “illegal” Asbestos work and could lead to criminal charges. Most properly registered AIA’s and RAC’s will however assist Asbestos clients in complying with the legal requirements by drafting and completing most of the legally prescribed forms and documents on their behalf.

The memo is free and was prepared and distributed by the Safety Network (Africa) (Pty) Ltd t/a SafeNet (Africa). This memo is intended to serve as an easily accessible resource in the field of Occupational Health and Safety. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information published in this memo is accurate, it is not meant to constitute legal opinion or advice. The Safety Network (Africa) (Pty) Ltd take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of the reliance upon the information as contained in this memo. The Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 as promulgated under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 should be read with this memo.

Please feel free to contact Rudelle van der Merwe on 082 578 2251 or 021-946 1261 should you require more information.