Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

Provision and cleaning of protective clothing

13.—(1) Every employer shall provide adequate and suitable protective clothing for such of his employees as are exposed or are liable to be exposed to asbestos, unless no significant quantity of asbestos is liable to be deposited on the clothes of the employee while he is at work.

(2) The employer shall ensure that protective clothing provided in pursuance of paragraph (1) is either disposed of as asbestos waste or adequately cleaned at suitable intervals.

(3) The cleaning required by paragraph (2) shall be carried out either on the premises where the exposure to asbestos has occurred, where those premises are suitably equipped for such cleaning, or in a suitably equipped laundry.

(4) The employer shall ensure that protective clothing which has been used and is to be removed from the premises referred to in paragraph (3) (whether for cleaning, further use or disposal) is packed, before being removed, in a suitable container which shall be labelled in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 2 as if it were a product containing asbestos or, in the case of protective clothing intended for disposal as waste, in accordance with regulation 23(3).

(5) Where, as a result of the failure or improper use of the protective clothing provided in pursuance of paragraph (1), a significant quantity of asbestos is deposited on the personal clothing of an employee, then, for the purposes of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) that personal clothing shall be treated as if it were protective clothing.