Louise Hosking, a chartered health and safety practitioner and director of Hosking Associates, discusses the issues and challenges involved in identifying and monitoring asbestos risk in schools
In my last article (Asbestos risk management: Identification, monitoring and removal), I discussed how a recent Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH) survey identified that almost one in four construction workers believe they have been exposed to asbestos dust fibres. Almost a third (32%) of respondents said they do not check asbestos registers, putting not only themselves at risk but also others.
From the 1950s through to the 1980s, asbestos was used extensively in the construction of school premises. Asbestos containing materials (ACMs) were used in fireproofing around structural columns and in fire breaks.
ACMs were used extensively by the Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme (CLASP), which formed in England in 1957 with the purpose of developing prefabricated school and public buildings. The system used light gauge steel frames, which enabled quick and economical construction. Frames were finished in a variety of cladding, many of which had an ACM…
