27 Jun 2016 / Australia
The Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993 and the subordinate Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) (National Standards) Regulations 2003 require operators to ensure that hazardous substances such as asbestos are not used at a workplace under their control.
An exception has been made for ‘in situ’ asbestos that has been fixed or installed in a ship (or any other structure that forms a maritime workplace) or plant (or any other thing that is used in a maritime workplace) before 31 December 2003 in such a way that it will not constitute a risk unless the asbestos is disturbed. In situ asbestos on ships must be appropriately identified and managed to ensure that the risks posed by asbestos are assessed, controlled and mitigated.
The best outcome is the complete removal of asbestos and asbestos containing materials from ships. Any work on the removal or disposal of asbestos should be carried out in accordance with the State or Territory legislation.
From 31 December 2003 the installation of asbestos on Australian ships has been prohibited. The same prohibition has been effective internationally from 1 January 2011.
The presence of documentation confirming that no asbestos is present is considered best practice, as is the inclusion of a certificate or report verifying that the samples have been analysed by a body holding National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA) accreditation for the relevant test method or other equivalent accreditation to internationally recognised standards to conduct independent asbestos inspections and testing on ships.
Ship owners and operators should contact the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to ensure that appropriate inspection and certification measures are in place prior to a ship entering Australia.
(For information about operations in Australia contact GAC Australia at [email protected])
Source: Extract from Australian Maritime Safety Authority Marine Notice 12/2016
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