If you touch asbestos in South Africa, the Asbestos Abatement Regulations 2020 decide who may do the work, and for most jobs that is not you. Removal beyond a small Type 1 scope needs a contractor registered with the DEL Chief Inspector, a site-specific Plan of Work, 7 days written notice to the DEL, air monitoring by an Approved Inspection Authority, and a clearance certificate before anyone reoccupies the area. Demolishing asbestos-containing material is flatly prohibited: it must be safely removed first.
The legal framework
The Asbestos Abatement Regulations 2020 (published 10 November 2020) replaced the 2001 Asbestos Regulations and are made under the OHS Act, enforced by the Department of Employment and Labour. No new asbestos products may be made or imported into South Africa, but there is no deadline by which existing asbestos must be removed. Instead, every employer with asbestos on a property must have a management plan with a phase-out timeline. Asbestos cement roofs, gutters, soffits and pipes are everywhere in pre-2011 SA housing stock, so renovators meet this constantly.
The three types of asbestos work
- Type 1: painting asbestos cement, or removing less than 10 square metres of asbestos cement, gutters, piping or insulation boards. No contractor registration required, but you need a written safe operating procedure, and the property owner must notify the DEL.
- Type 2: repair of asbestos cement without surface preparation, or removal of asbestos cement or insulating board beyond the Type 1 thresholds. Requires a Type 2 contractor registered with the DEL Chief Inspector.
- Type 3: removal, repair or encapsulation of any asbestos-containing material (ACM). Requires a registered Type 3 contractor.
If you are not registered for the type of work in front of you, the lawful move is to walk away and bring in someone who is.
Plan of Work, notification and controls
For Type 2 and Type 3 work:
- A site-specific Plan of Work must be developed and signed off by the Approved Inspection Authority (AIA), the client and the contractor.
- Written notification on Annexure 2 of the Regulations goes to the Chief Director: Provincial Operations of the relevant DEL province at least 7 days before work starts.
- Air monitoring during the work is done by the AIA, not in-house.
- No power tools. Manual and wet methods only, to keep fibres down.
- Workers must be medically fit and formally trained.
The clearance certificate
After Type 2 or Type 3 work, the AIA must visually inspect the area and run air sampling. Fibre levels must be below 0.01 fibres/ml before an Asbestos Clearance Certificate is issued, and the site may not be reoccupied without it. Every record connected to the job, including inventories, risk assessments, air monitoring, medical surveillance, disposal and clearance certificates, must be kept for 50 years.
What to do if you disturb asbestos by accident
Working on a pre-2011 building and you cut into something suspicious? Do this, in order:
- Stop work immediately in the affected area.
- Clear all workers out. Do not sweep or vacuum unless the machine has H14 HEPA filtration.
- Secure and demarcate the area.
- No eating, drinking or smoking in the zone.
- Get a bulk sample analysed by a laboratory to confirm whether it is asbestos.
- If confirmed: appoint a registered AIA, prepare the Plan of Work, notify the DEL, and appoint a registered Type 2 or Type 3 contractor.
- Document everything, including who was in the area and for how long.
The DEL maintains the register of registered asbestos contractors and AIAs. Always confirm a contractor's registration directly with the DEL before appointing them, rather than taking a certificate at face value.
Common mistakes
- Treating an old asbestos roof as just another roof. Removal beyond a small Type 1 scope is registered-contractor work.
- Demolishing with the asbestos still in place. Expressly prohibited; removal comes first.
- Dry cutting or angle-grinding ACM. Power tools are banned on asbestos work for a reason.
- Skipping the 7-day Annexure 2 notification because the client is in a hurry.
- Tossing the paperwork after the job. The retention period is 50 years.
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