Asbestos regulations applicable to building owners

Owners of buildings constructed before July 1, 1997, must identify asbestos, take measures if it is present, maintain an up-to-date technical file, and comply with the prefect's orders.

Marie Faucon
Consultante HSE
Publication : 
07.07.2014
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Please note: This article concerns French legislation. The requirements described may not apply in other countries.

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Articles R. 1334-14 to R. 1334-29 of the Public Health Code (CSP) define the mandatory procedures to be carried out by owners of built properties to prevent risks associated with the presence ofasbestos. This concerns built properties, private or public, for which the building permit was issued before July 1, 1997. The obligations can be divided into 4 parts:

  • Identification of asbestos-containing materials and products
  • Measures to be taken in case of asbestos presence
  • Files to be compiled and kept up-to-date
  • Departmental prefect's intervention

Identification of asbestos-containing materials and products

Owners of the properties concerned (see above) must search for the presence of asbestos in the materials and products listed in lists A, B, and C of Annex 13-9.
For information, the lists correspond to different materials or products (indicative list):

  • List A: Sprayed coatings / Thermal insulation / Suspended ceilings
  • List B: Vertical walls / Floors and ceilings / Ducts, pipes, and interior elements / Exterior elements
  • List C: Roofing and waterproofing / Facades / Interior vertical walls and ducts / Ceilings and suspended ceilings / Floor and wall coverings / Ducts, pipes, and equipment / Elevators and hoists / Various equipment / Industrial installations / Permanent formwork

The obligations for identifying these materials and products, as well as the documents that must be prepared and kept, depend on the owner's profile, defined by the type of property concerned.

Each list of materials corresponds to a different identification program. Different decrees specify the procedures to follow:

  • Decree of December 12, 2012, concerning the criteria for assessing the state of preservation of materials and products from list A containing asbestos (sprayed coatings, thermal insulation, suspended ceilings) and the content of the identification report
  • Decree of December 12, 2012, concerning the criteria for assessing the state of preservation of materials and products from list B containing asbestos (floor tiles, sprayed coatings, etc.) and the risk of degradation related to the environment, as well as the content of the identification report
  • The Decree of June 26, 2013, defines the procedures for identifying materials and products from list C containing asbestos (roofs, interior vertical walls, and coatings.....), which must be carried out before any demolition, as well as the content of the identification report.

The identification must be carried out by a technical controller or construction technician who has taken out professional insurance for this type of assignment. This individual is the only one authorized to certify the presence or absence of asbestos.

Measures to Take if Asbestos is Present

If materials or products from lists A, B, and C are present, and there is still doubt about the presence of asbestos, samples must be taken for analysis by an accredited organization.

For example, if asbestos from List A is detected, the survey report recommends that building owners take the following actions:

  • periodically assess the condition of asbestos-containing materials and products;
  • measure airborne asbestos fiber levels;
  • carry out asbestos containment or removal work if the airborne fiber level exceeds 5 fibers/liter of air;

The condition of materials and products from List A is assessed by a technical controller using an evaluation grid, in accordance with the aforementioned decree of December 12, 2012.

Based on the diagnostic results from the evaluation grid, owners undertake various actions, such as monitoring the condition or carrying out asbestos containment or removal work.

Asbestos-containing materials and products resulting from removal work must be transported and disposed of in accordance with waste legislation. After the work is completed and before the treated premises are reoccupied, the owner must arrange for:

  • a visual inspection of the treated surfaces by a technical controller or inspection technician;
  • and a measurement of airborne fiber levels by an approved organization after the containment system has been dismantled.

The airborne fiber level must be less than or equal to 5 fibers/liter of air.

Documents to Compile and Maintain

Owners of common areas in non-residential buildings must compile, maintain, and update an "asbestos technical file" that includes:

  • asbestos-containing material and product survey reports;
  • the dates, types, locations, and results of periodic condition assessments;
  • the dates, types, locations, and results of:
  • airborne fiber measurements;
  • work involving the removal or encapsulation of asbestos-containing materials and products;
  • protective measures implemented;
  • general safety recommendations for these materials and products, including intervention procedures, and waste management and disposal procedures;
  • a summary sheet.

This file must be made available to the occupants of the building concerned, employers, employee representatives, and occupational physicians when the building contains workplaces. These individuals must be informed of the procedures for consulting the file.

Upon request, owners must provide this file to various authorities, such as health and social action inspectors, labor inspectors, controllers from the Retirement and Occupational Health Insurance Funds (CARSAT, formerly CRAM), as well as to any person required to carry out work in the building, and must retain written proof of this communication.

They must provide the summary sheet of the "asbestos technical file" to the occupants of the building and to employers, if the building contains workplaces, within one month of its creation or update.

Surveys, as well as "asbestos technical files" completed before February 1, 2012, the date the decree came into force, remain valid. However, owners must ensure that materials from List B that have not been surveyed before this date (presumably only external elements should be concerned) undergo an additional survey, which must be carried out:

  • in the event of a sale;
  • concurrently with the next assessment of the condition of List A materials, if any exist;
  • before any work that may disturb List B materials;
  • by February 1, 2021, at the latest.

Intervention by the Departmental Prefect

Implementing the law of July 21, 2009, on hospital reform, which strengthens the prefect's role in preventing asbestos exposure, articles R. 1334-29-8 to R. 1334-29-9 establish the intervention procedure for the Departmental Prefect to compel owners to fulfill their obligations regarding the prevention of exposure toasbestos.

Indeed, the prefect can require owners or operators ofbuildings :

  • in case of non-compliance with asbestos-related obligations, to take the measures required by regulations or to have an expert assessment carried out;
  • in case of emergency, to have surveys, diagnostics, or expert assessments carried out as required by regulations, and to implement the necessary precautionary measures.

All these actions will be at the expense of the owners or operators.

Note: this article concerning the obligations of building owners does not cover regulations applicable to companies and workers who carry out asbestos surveys and related work. To be more comprehensive, it would also be necessary to cite texts such as (non-exhaustive list):

  • Labor Code - Articles R. 4412-97 to R. 4412-148: Risks of Asbestos Exposure
  • Decree of February 23, 2012, defining the training procedures for workers in the prevention of asbestos-related risks
  • Decree of August 14, 2012, concerning the conditions for measuring dust levels, the conditions for controlling compliance with the occupational exposure limit value for asbestos fibers, and the accreditation conditions for bodies carrying out these measurements
  • Decree of December 14, 2012, setting the certification conditions for companies carrying out asbestos removal or encapsulation work, or work on materials, equipment, or articles containing asbestos
  • Decree of March 7, 2013, concerning the selection, maintenance, and verification of personal protective equipment used during operations involving a risk of asbestos exposure
  • Decree of April 8, 2013, concerning the technical rules, prevention measures, and collective protection means to be implemented by companies during operations involving a risk of asbestos exposure

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