Asbestos in St Peter's and Bel Royal primary schools (FOI)

Request

A

I would like to know exactly where the Asbestos is in St Peter's Primary and Nursery School and in what quantity. Also when the last asbestos survey was undertaken?

B

I would like to know exactly where the Asbestos is in Bel Royal Primary and Nursery School and in what quantity. Also when the last asbestos survey was undertaken?

Response

A

The most recent survey undertaken at St Peter’s Primary School was a re-inspection, which was undertaken earlier this year. This survey found there to be no asbestos present.

There had previously been “asbestos containing material” (ACM) identified within the boiler room serving the old school. This ACM was removed in 1997. The 1966 school building, including the boiler room, was demolished in 2007 when the present school was constructed. The current modern school, constructed in 2008, does not contain any ACMs.

A new asbestos management survey is planned for the pre-2000 original granite part of the school building, constructed in 1862, which will be completed by the end of 2018.

B

The latest survey undertaken at Bel Royal Primary School was an asbestos management survey completed in 2018. This survey has confirmed the presence of ACMs in the ceiling of the electrics cupboard, the gaskets to pipe flanges in the boiler room and at high level above the distribution board in the gym store.

There are two external bitumen-felted roofs to the workshop and tank room, and possibly the internal rope within a high-level fire switch in the central courtyard, where the presence of asbestos is suspected. These areas have deliberately not been sent for analysis to confirm the presence of asbestos because doing so would damage the function of the surface. To explain further, the bitumen felted roofs would need to have the felt cut to look beneath for possible asbestos boarding, this would likely result in water ingress into the structures beneath causing the state of any asbestos to deteriorate.