Asbestos
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral and has been used
for about 150 years on a commercial basis. It is versatile, plentiful and was
ideal as a fireproofing and insulation material. Serious, often fatal diseases
can be caused when asbestos fibres are released from materials, become
airborne, and are inhaled.
How do you know if your school contains asbestos?
Asbestos was commonly used from the 1950s to the mid 1980s. Asbestos and
asbestos containing materials (ACMs) may be found in schools/colleges built or
refurbished before asbestos was banned in 1985. Residual stocks could have been
in existence in builders yards and used well after the ban. Some asbestos
containing materials such as asbestos cement were still used up until 1999. It
is probable that over half the school stock still contains some ACMs. Therefore
it is very important that this risk is managed effectively. In many cases only
visual surveys will have been completed and intrusive surveys will not have
been done. This is sufficient to comply with the duty to manage regulations (so
long as any asbestos present is in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed
or damaged) but will not provide a definite identification of asbestos.
Therefore in most cases it will not be known whether or not asbestos is
actually present and in these cases the duty holder should always presume that
any material contains asbestos unless there is strong evidence to suggest it
does not. Before extensive refurbishment or demolition takes place it may well
be necessary to conduct intrusive surveys to ascertain for sure whether ACMs
are present or not.
Who's at risk?
The most likely ways ACMs in schools/colleges can be disturbed or
damaged is through maintenance, repair or construction activities. This
includes even small jobs such as installing telephones, data projectors or
computers, putting up shelving or installing security systems. Anyone carrying
out such work will need to know whether the building does, or may contain ACMs,
where the ACMs are located and what condition they are in. School caretakers
have been identified as a particular group at risk due to the nature of their
work (e.g. drilling and fixing). Vandalism may also result in the release of
asbestos fibres e.g. damage to asbestos panels caused by pupils kicking
them.
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Last updated: 31 January 2008
