Asbestos incident classroom
open again
By Staff Copy
EMERGENCY repairs have been
carried out at a city primary school after an asbestos scare.
A classroom at
The hole, about the size of a 10 pence piece, was found during a routine health
and safety walk, and the room was immediately sealed off and classes moved to
one of the IT rooms.
Specially trained inspectors from Peterborough City Council were called in the
next morning to assess the danger posed by the hole.
Headteacher Deborah Reynolds said: “The surveyors ruled there was no
significant immediate risk to health, as upon inspection there were no loose
fibres. Asbestos is only hazardous to health when fibres are disturbed and then
inhaled.”
“As a school, the safety and well being of our children is of paramount
importance.”
It is believed the damage was caused when filling material used in the original
construction fell through, exposing the abestos-insulation boards in the
ceiling.
Contractors repaired the cavity after the inspectors left, and a final
inspection was made before classes resumed.
Mrs Reynolds said: “Like many schools, we are currently in close association
with the Local Education Authority working to replace any asbestos, so that
this kind of disruption doesn’t happen again.”
She added: “A newsletter to parents informed them that there had been an issue
with the ceiling. We shared our concerns with parents and reassured them that
at no time were the children at any risk.”
“One parent came to visit me after hearing about the incident, but after
discussing the matter they left reassured that we had rigorously followed all
the necessary health and safety procedures.”
Council spokeswoman Rachael Gordon said: “The school closed the classroom in
line with our property guidelines.
“The classroom was not opened again until a repair had been completed and it
had been fully inspected and deemed safe for use."
The full article contains 340
words and appears in Peterborough ET newspaper.
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