| According to the local press, there is asbestos in the buildings of about 90 per cent of Derby's schools. In January, the Derby Evening Telegraph reported that: "At St James' C of E Junior School, it is being taken out of the roof space, where repair work has to be carried out, and this is being well managed to avoid any pupils missing lessons. There have been bigger alarms, of course. At Nightingale Junior School, asbestos dust recently fell through a dislodged loft hatch, causing the emergency closure of a classroom. And at Silverhill Primary, 400 pupils and teachers were exposed to asbestos dust for up to three weeks during work to replace windows in 2003. That led to court proceedings. Head Teachers have quite enough on their plates without the worry of being prosecuted and being accused of endangering the lives of pupils. The dangers posed are well known. An asbestos register records its whereabouts in every school. It is not satisfactory to give the so-called assurance that asbestos remains safe if it is undisturbed. It would only take an act of vandalism, an accident or an intruder to put a foot through a panel for staff or children to be exposed to it - and 40 years of health uncertainty would ensue. It is an unacceptable risk for our children to be exposed to - and, whatever the cost, it must be addressed."
This editorial is understandable. Asbestos can be a risk, but not if it is well managed. The problem is assessing the risk. The only way to be sure is to remove a sample and have it tested by a competent laboratory.
Depending on how and where asbestos was applied, it might not pose any risk to most users of the building. If the fibres cannot become dislodged, they cannot be inhaled, and thus the asbestos poses no risk. However, some methods of applying asbestos, particularly spraying, allow asbestos fibres to gradually become airbourne as the material ages and deteriorates. Asbestos poses hazards to maintenance personnel who have to drill holes in walls for installation of cables or pipes.
Even if the workers are protected, maintenance operations may release fibres into the air, which could be inhaled by others. Interventions in areas where asbestos is present often have to follow stringent procedures. If removal is to be performed when users are still present in the building, it is usually necessary to relocate some users temporarily. Typically, the part of the building from which asbestos is being removed has to be sealed off in order to prevent contamination of the other areas.
For the process to be undertaken with the minimum of risk, fuss and best value, it is always advisable to work with a team of experts such as Scientifics. Our team has a wealth of experience - indeed, dealing with asbestos is a key area of expertise for Scientifics. In the public and private sector we are experts in managing the risk from asbestos. We undertake surveys, identification tests, air tests and provide advice about the management of asbestos and how to address its removal, including supervision of the removal work.
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