White asbestos has been banned in the UK since 1999, yet this year it has been discovered within components of UK wind turbines, understood to have entered the supply chain via third-party Chinese suppliers.
Around the same time, the Office for Product Safety and Standards, the UK Health Security Agency and the HSE issued a joint statement (19 June 2026) following recalls involving craft kits, science kits, sand-filled toys and decorative doorstops, after asbestos was found in the sand used in the products. Although very different products, they expose the same underlying issue.
Global supply chains can extend into jurisdictions where asbestos restrictions, manufacturing controls and testing regimes differ from those in the UK. That creates a difficult question for UK businesses: how far can you safely rely on an “asbestos-free” declaration or a “No Asbestos Detected” test certificate?
Whilst a “No Asbestos Detected” certificate may have been issued, it is not necessarily the end of the enquiry. If asbestos is subsequently discovered, an inspector is likely to want to understand what was tested, whether the sample was representative, what analysis was carried out and what the organisation knew, or ought reasonably to have known, about the provenance of the material.
What this means for you: For businesses importing products, components or materials, supply-chain assurance is increasingly important. The key question isn’t simply do you have a certificate but how is your organisation verifying what arrives on site? That may mean looking again at how imported materials and components are specified, tested and documented, before an inspector raises the same concern. The organisations best placed to respond to a regulatory investigation are those that can demonstrate not simply that they obtained paperwork, but that they had a proportionate verification system within their supply chain.
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Shared for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before acting on any of the information given. Please contact us for specific advice on your circumstances.