Fears crumbling concrete could release deadly asbestos fibres in schools and hospitals

FEARS are growing that the crumbling concrete in schools and hospitals could release deadly asbestos fibres

Emergency measures in England are underway to shore up public sector buildings over fears they could be structurally unsound due to deteriorating reinforce autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

It’s thought council buildings, police stations, leisure centres and offices could also contain the substance.

Experts now fear the presence of RAAC also increases the danger of exposure to asbestos, which kills 5,000 people a year in the UK.

The president of the Institution of Structural Engineers, Matt Byatt, said:  “There are two real risk-to-life elements to this: if RAAC collapses it puts life at risk in an instantaneous manner; and asbestos can be deadly if it’s inhaled.

‘’These are not lightweight issues — they are very serious, and they should be treated as such.”

RAA and asbestos are often found in the same buildings as both materials were used extensively in the postwar building boom, reports.

While asbestos is safe when stable, if it is disturbed, as in a building collapse, it could release fibres that, if inhaled, can cause mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.

It emerged in July that thousands of kids were still being taught in schools which contained asbestos, despite a ban being imposed on the material by 1999.

Around 10,000 teachers, pupils and staff are estimated to have died from asbestos exposure at school in the last four decades.

Asbestos is also a serious problem for the NHS.

A total of 156 schools were told last week their buildings contained the crumbling concrete.

SCHOOLS FORCED TO CLOSE

Of those, 104 will have to partially or completely close meaning the start of term will be delayed for thousands of pupils.

Other schoolchildren will have to return to online learning or be taught in office blocks.

A school in Kent is planning to serve lunch in classrooms.

RAAC was widely used in public buildings from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Air pockets in the unstable concrete crumble, weakening structures.

Where RAAC was used for load-bearing walls or roofs, entire buildings are in danger of collapsing without warning.

The issue was first highlighted in 1999 and became a major issue after the partial collapse of a roof at a Kent school in 2018.

NHS SITES AFFECTED

More than 40 NHS sites are affected with seven hospitals needing to be rebuilt.

Documents released following a FOI request from nearly a dozen hospitals revealed the extent of the problem facing NHS Trusts.

An assessment carried out at West Suffolk Hospital in April this year warned of a  “catastrophic” and “likely” risk of potential failure of the main hospital building.

It said this would cause “loss of life and/or major injury.”

The report also said “asbestos and dust inhalation” was a big risk and staff could be “provided FFP3 masks” to wear post-collapse.

It also warned of possible legal liability for trust managers under corporate manslaughter legislation.

Meanwhile, similar concerns were raised at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, where a report released in February found the RAAC panels were rapidly deteriorating.

It warned of sudden catastrophic collapse “despite remedial structural solutions being put in”.

Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, warned the documents provided  “a terrifying picture of the state of our hospitals after 13 years of Conservative neglect.”

He said: “The Conservatives literally didn’t fix the roof when the sun was shining, and now patients’ safety is at risk.”

Streeting said the government’s rebuilding plans were behind schedule, with only one of 40 new hospitals likely to be finished by the next election.

He added: “Patients are being told to make do with crumbling hospitals for years to come.”

Labour has demanded an audit of all public sector buildings.

'CRITICAL RISK'

The Department for Education has assessed the threat to safety in school buildings as a “critical risk” since 2021.

The government has yet to release the full list of schools which have been forced to close.

The Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier, who chairs the public accounts committee, said this was the “tip of the iceberg” for a “failing school estate”.

Speaking to Times Radio, she said merely inspecting potentially affected buildings could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

She claimed that ministers had delayed addressing the problem, telling the BBC: “What we’ve seen for years is cost-shunting of these problems down the line, so there are very big bills to pay now for the taxpayer.”

It’s likely schools will have to bid through the Department for Education’s funding process to finance permanent building replacements.

The government will fund the cost of any remedial work, including temporary buildings.

In July the Health and Safety Executive published a report revealing that it had written to a third of the 421 British schools it had inspected in the previous 12 months, warning about “non-compliance” in their legal duty to manage asbestos effectively.

Priti Patel, the former home secretary and MP for Witham in Essex, where five schools have been affected, said: “Ministers need to explain why the decision to close schools was not taken sooner so that working parents could plan.

"This would have prevented disruption to teaching... This is not a new issue and the government will have to account for its actions.”

Here are the affected schools we know about, check to see if your kids' school is included.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan, writing in The Sun, said the concrete crisis does not mean a return to “dark days” of school lockdowns.