Established 1986 - P402 Qualified Surveyors - 29 St Lawrence Ave Ramsgate CT110HZ
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Email for quote or specific help: asbestossurveys-kent@yahoo.co.uk - enquiries@kentsurveys.com
Asbestos in Schools
Anxiety
If you're a parent/guardian or teacher and are concerned about asbestos in schools, here is some information designed to reassure you and hopefully explain the real risks from asbestos materials.
Asbestos is an emotive subject and most people know it can cause cancer and other health effects, the anxiety of having this material in a school where your child attends is perfectly understandable. Asbestos materials that are suitably sealed are quite safe and should be left alone and managed where possible. Wholesale removal is not really the answer, removal is expensive, disruptive and if not done properly can leave invisible contamination where exposure to staff, children and visitors will occur.
The best option, if removal is required, would be to carry out the removal during school holidays, where there in minimum risk, when the removal is complete the independent analyst will inspect the work, carry out air tests and issue a certificate of re-occupation.
Asbestos was used in schools over a long time just like any other type of building, apart from the obvious places like boilers and pipework etc it was also used for fire doors, ceiling tiles, general fire protection etc. Most schools have been modernised since the total ban on using the material came into force, during these refurbishments much of the asbestos was removed.
Asbestos materials that remain in schools should be well documented by now, an asbestos survey would have been carried out detailing the location and condition of the materials. Any materials found that were unsealed or damaged should have been repaired and sealed or removed depending on the condition and location of the material. Private schools tend to make their own arrangements for surveys and asbestos management much the same as private companies.
Much of our asbestos work is making asbestos materials safe by encapsulation and cladding etc, rather than removing it, we rarely recommend asbestos removal in our surveys, ideally it should only be removed when: it is too damaged to repair (its on the floor!), it is regularly disturbed by normal used of the building (vandalism in schools), it is likely to be disturbed by planned refurbishment of the area.
Asbestos Removal
Asbestos removal involves the following:
Site visit to establish scope and methods, producing and submitting ASB5 notification including plans, method statement, equipment specs, risk assessment etc
Setting up of decontamination unit (DCU usually outside)
Check equipment and complete checklists
Ensuring site documentation is present, insurance, training records, equipment inspection records, medical certificates, etc etc.
Erection of enclosure with three stage airlock for primary decontamination (enclosure is air-tight and sealed with tape etc)
Fitting of negative pressure unit to enclosure (negative pressure ensures no fibres escape enclosure)
Posting warning signs and establishing transit route to decontamination unit (primary decontamination in airlock to full decontamination in DCU)
Careful removal of asbestos using control measures, which could be, vacuuming with asbestos vacuum, spraying with PVA solution, injecting surfactant with a machine
Double bag asbestos waste and wash bags when taking through airlock
Clean area to a high standard
Independent analyst to inspect enclosure and work area, brushing surfaces and sampling the air, when satisfied analyst will issue a 'certificate of re-occupation'
Enclosure is removed and double bagged as asbestos waste along with mask filters and overalls
Certificate of re-occupation is presented to client, a copy is kept on record
Waste is collected by licensed carrier for disposal at a licensed landfill site, consignment note is kept for records
This is why proper asbestos removal can be expensive
How safe is it?
Suitably sealed asbestos materials are quite safe and will simply need a regular inspection to ensure they remain safe.
The majority of asbestos containing materials are quite safe to start with, the asbestos fibres are tightly trapped within the structure of the material and the risk of fibre release is very small. These 'bonded asbestos' materials include asbestos cement products (roof sheets, guttering etc) vinyl floor tiles (within the vinyl) man made roof tiles (within tile material) etc, their ability to release fibres (friability) is very low because of the nature of the material. These materials will still have to be reported as asbestos materials, therefore an asbestos survey may report a school has asbestos materials but these may only be the 'bonded' materials mentioned above. Because of the very low risk, the removal of these materials can be carried out using basic precautions (no scary looking masked men entering strange tents etc). The best option is simply to leave them in place and check them once a year.
The higher risk materials like boilers and pipework etc will probably have been removed by now due to their age, most asbestos of this type was installed in the 1950/60s, some may have been encapsulated (sealed to a high standard) rendering them safe to work around, boiler rooms tend to be small locked buildings or rooms away from the main population of the building.
AIB or Asbestos Insulation Board was used mainly for fire protection and contains on average about 40% Amosite (brown) asbestos, is similar to plasterboard and used in a similar fashion. This is the main type of material asbestos surveyors tend to look for, it has a medium to high friability and like most asbestos materials, if it is suitably sealed, it is perfectly safe. Many schools have had their AIB removed by now or its been properly sealed and labelled to warn others.
The Regulations
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 requires anyone responsible for non-domestic premises to control the asbestos in their building(s), this is expressed as implicit duties, namely a 'Duty to Find' (through a competent asbestos survey) a 'Duty to Manage' to ensure the material is made safe and kept in a safe condition by sealing and limiting access and a 'Duty to Inform' means to inform those liable to disturb the material through normal working in the building in order to prevent accidental disturbance. The councils and schools etc are aware of these duties, therefore they each have a strong reason to ensure these duties are complied with, there are severe penalties for those that don't.
Those at most risk from asbestos exposure are tradesmen and maintenance staff, people who drill, cut, saw etc materials in buildings, an asbestos survey will prevent the accidental disturbance and exposure by informing them where the asbestos is in a building, before they start work. Most of this work is carried out during school holidays to ensure there is no risk to others in the school.
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