Regulation 4 of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 states:

Every employer shall ensure that suitable personal protective equipment is provided to his employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work.’

Asbestos supplies a significant risk to health so PPE should be worn when handling it.

Should I do a risk assessment on an area of asbestos?

Before asbestos is operated on or extracted, a risk assessment should be carried out to assess the risk of exposure, and then if there is a high risk, it should try to be reduced.