Businesses importing, distributing or specifying products for use in the built environment should revisit their asbestos assurance arrangements after the Government confirmed that 69 product recalls have followed action by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and local authorities, including activity at the border.
In a written answer published on 8 September 2026, the Department for Business, Innovation and Science said that the OPSS oversees and coordinates the UK product-safety framework across in-store sales, online sales and border activity. It restated that businesses placing products on the UK market must ensure they are safe and free from asbestos, and referred to business controls that can include testing. Read the written parliamentary answer.
The answer does not announce a new asbestos ban, a fresh mandatory testing programme or a new compliance deadline. Instead, it is a clear reminder that existing responsibilities extend beyond manufacturers to the businesses that source, import and make products available in the UK. For construction supply chains, the practical message is that supplier declarations alone may not provide sufficient assurance where a product, material type or country of origin presents a credible contamination risk.
What has changed?
The immediate development is an enforcement and policy signal rather than a legislative change. The Government has put on record that product surveillance is continuing and that action may be taken where businesses fail to meet their legal obligations. The stated total of 69 recalls demonstrates that asbestos contamination is not solely a legacy-building issue: it can also arise in newly supplied articles and products.
Asbestos is prohibited in new construction and refurbishment work, while the supply of articles containing asbestos is generally unlawful. HSE guidance explains that the restriction under UK REACH covers the placing on the market of articles to which asbestos fibres have been intentionally added; placing on the market includes import. HSE also states more broadly that it is illegal to supply an article containing asbestos, whether supplied for payment or free of charge. See HSE guidance on asbestos and UK REACH exemptions.
The parliamentary answer should therefore not be interpreted as creating a blanket statutory obligation to laboratory-test every imported product. The suitable level of due diligence will depend on the product and supply chain. However, where there is a realistic possibility of asbestos contamination, businesses should be able to demonstrate why their controls are proportionate and effective.
Who is affected?
The implications are most direct for importers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and online marketplaces placing products on the UK market. They are also relevant to contractors, developers, asset managers, facilities teams and procurement professionals that buy products for installation, refurbishment or maintenance.
Higher-risk supply-chain scenarios may include products with heat-resistant, friction-resistant, insulating, sealing, woven or mineral-fibre components; goods sourced through opaque multi-tier supply chains; low-volume specialist items; and products imported from jurisdictions where asbestos restrictions or enforcement differ from those in the UK.
HSE has previously highlighted the risk in relation to imported wire gauzes used in schools. Its guidance says UK suppliers sourcing products from outside the EU should operate an assurance system and may need to commission testing, rather than relying unquestioningly on an overseas manufacturer’s asbestos-free declaration. Read HSE’s asbestos-containing wire gauze guidance.
Practical steps for procurement and compliance teams
- Map the supply chain: identify the legal entity placing each relevant product on the market, its country of manufacture, intermediary suppliers and the supporting technical evidence available.
- Apply risk-based checks: use documented criteria to identify product categories and suppliers that need enhanced assurance, including independent sampling or laboratory analysis where justified.
- Review supplier controls: contracts and purchase specifications should require accurate material declarations, traceability, notification of suspected contamination, access to test evidence and co-operation with recall activity.
- Retain an auditable record: keep declarations, test reports, batch or lot information, purchase records and decisions explaining the level of due diligence undertaken.
- Prepare a response process: establish arrangements to quarantine suspect stock, stop installation, notify affected customers or sites, obtain specialist advice and manage any resulting waste safely.
- Brief project teams: ensure buyers and site teams understand that a product can present an asbestos issue even where it is new, packaged and supplied through an apparently established route.
Implications for refurbishment and demolition projects
For environmental and construction-risk managers, this issue sits alongside—not instead of—the established duty to manage asbestos in existing buildings. Dutyholders for non-domestic premises must take reasonable steps to identify asbestos-containing materials, maintain an asbestos register and management plan, and provide relevant information to people who may disturb those materials. New-product procurement controls cannot remove those separate duties. Read HSE’s overview of the duty to manage asbestos.
Where a newly supplied product is suspected of containing asbestos, organisations should avoid treating it as a routine defect or simply returning it through normal logistics channels. The appropriate response will depend on the material, condition and likelihood of fibre release. Specialist competent advice may be required to assess the product, prevent disturbance and determine safe handling, removal and disposal arrangements.
What organisations should consider next
There is no announced deadline arising from the 8 September answer. Nonetheless, organisations with imported construction products, maintenance consumables or specialist equipment in their supply chains should use the Government’s statement as a prompt for a documented review now. The central test is whether the business can show that it has taken reasonable, risk-based steps to prevent asbestos-containing products being placed on the market or installed at a site.
For procurement teams, that means moving beyond generic compliance warranties where the risk profile warrants it. For project and property teams, it means ensuring suspected newly introduced asbestos is escalated promptly and managed through appropriate health, safety and waste procedures. Continued OPSS market surveillance and the recall figure indicate that regulators expect businesses to maintain active controls, not merely react after contamination has been identified.