The subject of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) is a delicate one, as uncontrolled exposure may have devastating health effects, especially for children.
ACMs were widely used in construction in the 20th century, until they were finally banned in the UK in 1999. Many school buildings contain ACMs, but if the material is not disturbed and it is in good condition, it is safe. The problem with asbestos starts when the materials are disturbed, releasing fibres into the atmosphere which children and others may breathe in.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations asks duty holders to manage ACMs so that their fibres don’t end up in our lungs. To ensure this, you need to:
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familiarise yourself with the Asbestos Management Procedure;
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have the latest copy of your asbestos re-inspection (most schools were inspected by Exova in 2017);
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if you have a copy of the school’s asbestos management survey, even better;
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fill in the Asbestos Management Plan (AMP) template.
The Asbestos Management Procedure and the Asbestos Management Plan are available in the communication part of the Traded Services Website / Health and Safety for Schools module.
Complete the template with information about your school. Then list each ACM on your original asbestos management survey (if available) or in the re-inspection report. Then follow each of the recommendations for each of the ACMs. They would normally be removal, encapsulate or monitor. If you have any of the first two categories and they have not been actioned, please contact the council’s School’s Corporate Landlord. Your AMP should list the ACMs in the monitor category. Then do that at the suggested intervals in your survey/re-inspection report, depending on the ACMs condition and location.
To monitor each of the ACMs, just check if they have deteriorated. If they have not, just record it. If they have deteriorated, please contact the council’s School’s Corporate Landlord.
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Before disturbing the fabric of the building for example, by drilling, by the premises team or a contractor, ensure there are no ACMs present by checking the survey/re-inspection.
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If significant disturbance of the fabric of the building will take place, a refurbishment/demolition survey must be organised before the works commence. Also, please inform the council’s Corporate Landlord.
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Your premises staff should have received training in asbestos awareness. I organised one course, but this wasn’t well attended. I will organise another course later in the year.
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Inform all your staff about the locations of ACMs likely to be disturbed, so they are aware not to disturb them.
The council’s Corporate Landlord is organising asbestos management surveys for the schools that it is responsible for.
I hope this article was useful. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Alexis Correa, Deputy Head of Service – Health and Safety
alexis.correa@haringey.gov.uk
020 8489 2928
