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Last Updated on 22nd March 2018 by
A derelict school in Nottingham is set to receive hundreds of thousands of pounds to remove asbestos from it’s buildings.
Elms Primary school in St Ann’s was built in the 1940’s and closed it’s doors in August 2008.
Nottingham City Council contracted a firm to remove asbestos from the school and partially demolish it at a cost of £500,000.
However, since the work began to remove asbestos from the buildings, more was found in areas that were previously inaccessible or unidentified.
As a result, more money was required to remove asbestos from all areas.
The local council therefore approved an extra £350,000 for the job.
Local lady, Maureen Ball, a retired mental health worker said, “It would be a good thing. It’s the process of the work that would be worrying, how they deal with it. I do know about asbestos and that it can cause lung problems.”
“Something has to be done. It’s a waste of space if it’s not used for anything. It’s got to be done with care to not affect the people that live right next door. I walk past the site but there’s a lot of overgrowth and fencing.”
Asbestos was commonly used in the construction of and refurbishment of buildings before the year 2000.
Even though it was banned in 1999 as a building material, it still causes around 5,000 deaths every year.
If asbestos is left alone, enclosed and monitored, it poses no immediate threat to health so long as it is undamaged.
The danger is when it is disturbed as it releases fibers which are inhaled, causing irreversible damage to the lungs.
Deputy manager of the Headway brain association, Susan Redgate, commented, “People living nearby would worry, it’s a natural thing. When something like that is going on that involves something that’s potentially hazardous to your health, people naturally would worry about it.”
Following the rising costs associated to remove asbestos from the school, the cost of the demolition also increased.
Security costs would also be higher than anticipated due to delays on commencing the demolition process.
As such, it’s anticipated that the partial demolition works, with added security costs, fees and contingency will be around £295,000.
Nottingham City council have subsequently agreed to award an extra £350,000 to the project, bringing the total cost in at £850,000 to remove asbestos.
Fundraising development worker at Derbyshire Asbestos Support, Sarah Walters, who works to help people affected by an asbestos-related illness across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, said they regularly see cases of former teachers being diagnosed with Mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma cancer is caused by being exposed to asbestos and affects the lungs.
Sarah says, “It’s caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. We have a few teachers who were exposed in their workplace, in classrooms.”
“Sometimes we have seen cases when ceiling tiles containing asbestos came loose and fibers showers into the classroom.”
“It just seems to be a lottery. One of them will go onto develop the disease and another will not. A lot of the time boiler rooms are found with asbestos.”
Source of article:- https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/extra-350k-granted-remove-potentially-1242314
Duty holders and employers have a legal responsibility to manage asbestos in their properties, carrying out an asbestos survey in their building so as not to put employees at risk.
So make sure you contact our Armco office to arrange an asbestos survey, before it’s too late!
Whether you need an asbestos management survey, or a refurbishment/ demolition survey, contact us on 0161 763 3727 or by visiting https://www.armco.org.uk/
Finally, for all your asbestos training needs call 0161 761 4424 or visit https://www.armcoasbestostraining.co.uk/to book an asbestos awareness training course.
Published Mar 05, 2018
