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Archive for the ‘Asbestos in Schools’ Category
An all-party group is calling for a scheme to remove asbestos from schools.
MPs and peers have said that the presence of asbestos in most UK state schools constitutes a “national scandal”.
After studying estimates which suggest the material was present in more than 75% of state schools, an all-party group now wants to implement a scheme to remove the asbestos.
In the past 10 years more than a 140 teachers have died from the asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma, which is primarily caused by exposure to asbestos.
Education chiefs are saying that it is unacceptable for schools to ignore guidance but that undamaged asbestos should not be disturbed.
In 2010 the Department for Education (DfE) revealed that its “best estimate” was that more than three-quarters of schools contain asbestos.
Chairman for the Parliamentary group on Occupational Safety and Health, Jim Sheridan said:
“This is a national scandal.”
“Urgent action is needed to prevent more pupils, teachers and other staff being exposed to this deadly killer dust.
He went onto say:
“We need both far greater awareness of the risks that this material poses and a programme for its phased removal.”
Shops, offices and schools are just some of the workplaces in the services sector where asbestos could be present. But how do such organisations ensure they have the controls in place to safely manage this potentially deadly substance and, at the same time, remain open for business? Sadie Hopson explains.
In our fast-paced culture, time is money. As such, no organisation will entertain lightly the prospect of suspending their daily operations for any reason. Yet, shutting up shop has become a reality for various organisations over recent months; from schools to retail outlets, several different establishments have been forced to close their doors after asbestos has been discovered on their premises.
Not only does such a situation impact on business, but the health implications and negative publicity can, potentially, be extremely costly. Events such as these most commonly occur on account of a failure to invest in a stringent asbestos management plan, which is specific to the organisation.
It is estimated that 500,000 commercial, industrial and public buildings in the UK contain asbestos.1 Trade associations, professional bodies and regulators are driving forward various initiatives to increase awareness among the relevant parties and duty-holders, but beyond the surveys and asbestos registers, action needs to be effectual at an operational level.
System breakdown
With more awareness campaigns and informed professionals spreading the word, the majority of duty-holders are aware of their obligations to manage asbestos in their premises. Yet, businesses large and small are still making alarming mistakes when it comes to health and safety, often failing to implement documented procedures effectively.
In September 2011, the prosecution of Marks and Spencer over a failure to protect customers, staff and workers from potential exposure to asbestos during refurbishment at one of its stores attracted wide press attention. The high-street retailer was fined
£1 million after a three-month trial, and the hefty size of the fine is indicative of the scale of the health and safety breach.2
Such a turn of events shows how easy it is for there to be a breakdown in the system – in this case, resulting in ceiling dust, possibly containing asbestos, falling on the floor of the store. With such huge potential risks at stake, it is vital that every step is taken to reduce the hazards in question. The information identified in an asbestos management plan and the surveys undertaken must be used as a driver for proactive prevention, as this forms the foundation for effective asbestos management.
Charges have been brought against Staffordshire County Council after dangerous asbestos fibres were released into a primary school.
The alert, believed to have been sparked when contractors dismantling a cupboard accidentally disturbed the fibres, shut Glenthorne Primary in Cheslyn Hay for four months and cost taxpayers £246,000. Other parts of the building were also affected.
The authority had been due to answer health and safety charges at Cannock Magistrates Court yesterday but the case was postponed at the last minute.
A national asbestos trade union campaign group urges the Government to put the health of children and school staff first, and abandon its plans to make the governors of all state-funded schools responsible for the health and safety of their pupils and staff, which will happen if it transfers the responsibility from local authorities to school governors.
The Joint Union Asbestos Committee* (JUAC) said that a recent judgement against the University of Lincoln, which exposed staff to asbestos fibres, indicated how easily things can go wrong if asbestos is not properly managed in educational institutions. It underlines how important it is that the Government does not transfer responsibility away from local authorities who have the specialist knowledge and resources to help local authority schools safely maintain their asbestos.
A PIECE of Island education history has finally bitten the dust.
A demolition crew has put the finishing touches to the site of Ventnor Middle School, in preparation for construction work to begin on a new school.
The old 1950s’ Ventnor Middle School has been demolished and the Isle of Wight Council says work is on track for the new St Francis Primary School to be open from January, 2013.
The new £6 million school is being built on the footprint of the old one, after receiving unanimous approval of the council’s planning committee.
A Belvedere school has been closed following the discovery of asbestos in the school hall.
Traces of asbestos were found at Belvedere Infant School, in Mitchell Close, on November 17 and the school was closed as a safety precaution the following day.
All lessons have been suspended until December 1 and the school itself is not expected to open again until February next year.
Bexley Council is working with the school to provide alternative arrangements for children while the school remains closed.
The school assures parents children will be taught in the same class groups and by the same teachers when the school re-opens.
Headteacher Linda Mulley said: “This is an unexpected period of disruption for our children and I appreciate the patience that children, parents and carers have shown while we are putting final arrangements in place.
Concerned parents have removed their children from a primary school after the discovery of asbestos in the building.
The potentially lethal material was found by workmen in Brentfield Primary School, in Meadow Garth, Neasden, over the summer holidays.
Parts of the building have been cordoned off and parents say their children have been forced to use toilets in nearby Neasden Temple.
They also say hot food is off the menu and children are being forced to eat their lunches in classrooms.
A worried mother, who wished not to be named, said: “The school should be closed until all the work is carried out but the council doesn’t want to do this.
“Half of the building is sealed off. The children are using the temple next door to go to the toilet. There is no kitchen and they are eating in classrooms.
“It obviously is not safe if parts of the school are closed. Half of the parents have taken their kids out. A lot of parents down here don’t know what is going on.”
With some 75 per cent of schools containing asbestos, solicitor David Brierley says that we must not relax controls over the deadly substance.
It is almost a year since Lord Young’s report Common Sense, Common Safety was published. This was a review of health and safety, commissioned by the government, which made recommendations for improving the way health and safety is applied.
The report was welcomed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and prime minister David Cameron, who set out the government’s intention to focus regulations where they were most needed, with a new system that is proportionate, not bureaucratic, and which reinstates some common sense and trust.
A number of Lord Young’s recommendations are being actioned this year. The HSE has put forward for consultation a classroom risk-assessment for schools to use, and an independent review of health and safety legislation is taking place, aimed at combining and simplifying health and safety legislation.
The government has already announced its intention to abolish the Adventure Activities Licensing Agency, which runs a licensing scheme for adventure activity centres, and is consulting on replacing the scheme with a code of practice.
Separately, the Department for Education has replaced its own detailed guidance on school trips with a general summary document. There are also changes to the HSE’s inspection regime – it is no longer carrying out proactive workplace inspections of “low-risk” premises, including local authority schools, while continuing to carry out reactive inspections if an incident is reported to them.
There certainly is a place for common sense in health and safety, however, the school staff unions are concerned that a common theme to these changes is a downgrading of health and safety.
There is no case for relaxing controls in relation to asbestos. Any downgrading or reduction in protection from the threat of asbestos is a serious concern for the unions. The figures are stark. In the last three years, 16 teachers a year have died from mesothelioma (the lung cavity cancer caused by exposure to asbestos).
Work to tear down a derelict eyesore plagued by vandals has been delayed after the demolition crew found more asbestos than expected.
The demolition of the old theatre, the last remaining building of the former Tresham College in St Mary’s Road, Kettering, will began in two weeks after the asbestos is removed.
Site manager Andy Seeds said: “The only thing that stands as I speak now is the theatre. Another fortnight it should be down.
“It has gone well considering the amount of asbestos that was in the college which we knew about.
“I would say we are 80 per cent done.”
A FORMER Waterloo school is set to be demolished.
Permission to knock down St Edmunds Primary School on Oxford Road has been granted by Sefton Council and work on the site is expected to begin within weeks.
All of the Victorian buildings attached to the school will be demolished apart from one single storey area to the rear.
The building, which is owned by the Liverpool Roman Catholic Archdiocesan Trustees, has remained vacant for almost two years after pupils were moved into the school next door.
Despite one objection from a nearby homeowner, council officers decided to approve demolition plans on July 27 this year.
One Oxford Road resident raised concerns about the method of demolition, resulting dust levels and presence of asbestos.
But the council were happy with the scheme of demolition submitted and issued the demolition approval notice.
IT could be several weeks before pupils at a Derbyshire special school are able to use their hall again after asbestos was discovered.
Up to 70 pupils at Alfreton Park Community Special School were sent home on Friday, two days after ceiling tiles worked loose in the main hall.
Now asbestos has been found in the girders holding the tiles in place.
The area was immediately sealed off and it will be two weeks before the asbestos can be removed and repairs are carried out.
It is not known if it the hall will be open in time for when pupils return in September.
Head teacher Rosemary McKenzie said it had been a very hectic time for everyone at the school.
She said: “We have been busy creating alternative ways of getting our able-bodied and less able-bodied pupils around the school without going through the hall.
“We have also had to make sure we can get treatment to pupils in cases of emergency.
“It has now been possible to create a sealed tunnel through the hall to make life easier.
“It is good we are breaking up next Thursday. But I think it is unlikely that any work will be finished before we return in September.”
On National Mesothelioma Day, unions ask the government to report annually on asbestos risk in schools, which they hope will cut back on related deaths
The Joint Union Asbestos Campaign (JUAC) is today calling on the government to boost safety standards, by placing a requirement on local authorities to give parents and school workers an annual report of the asbestos risk in schools.
Although every year asbestos-related lung cancer, known as mesothelioma, claims the lives of 16 UK teachers, and more than 70% of school buildings contain asbestos, the Health and Safety Executive policy has recently cut school inspections.
Schools will no longer be proactively inspected, despite what they unions call “a significant proportion” of local authorities have “serious flaws” in the asbestos management systems, which they have a statutory duty to maintain.
Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, said: “Despite the warnings, and the heavy death toll, less is going to be done to protect school workers and children from the threat of asbestos.
“We are calling on the government to boost safety by introducing legislation to make sure local authorities assess the risk of asbestos, and let staff and parents know about them. School staff and parents have a right to know that their school is a safe place to work in and learn in.”
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