Asbestos in city schools costing half a million

Council and contractors accused of exposing workforce to dangers of lethal building material

MORE than half a million pounds has been spent to remove a potentially lifethreatening material from city schools over the past five years.

Asbestos, once a popular building material, is linked to the deaths of around 5,000 workers each year, claiming more lives than motorists involved in accidents on the road.

Tommy Campbell, of the Unite Union, said Aberdeen City Council had failed to appreciate the dangers posed by the substance, in the wake of a series of safety breaches. He said: “Council leaders and contractors have a duty of care to their workers and putting them in a situation which could potentially lead to asbestos exposure, knowing the dangers posed, is frankly appalling.”

Mr Campbell spoke out as Asbestos Action campaigners met in the city.

A council spokeswoman said the “health, safety and wellbeing” of its staff was “a priority”.

The huge sums spent by Aberdeen City Council on removing dangerous asbestos from ageing schools has been revealed in a freedom of information request exclusively obtained by The Press and Journal.

Over the past five years, £593,273 has been spent removing the potentially life-threatening substance from schools.

The figure may be even higher, as a number of projects that include works to remove asbestos, carried out as part of larger refurbishment contracts, were not included in the final totals.

Most recently, works were undertaken to remove asbestos panels from Hazlehead Academy and Bridge of Don Academy, with each leading to safety scares.

Disturbed or damaged asbestos can cause serious disease and even death to those who come into contact with it.

Union boss Tommy Campbell yesterday launched a scathing attack on the council over safety while he also called for more to be done to remove asbestos from schools and other public buildings.

He said: “There are now no excuses for failing to adopt proper procedures when dealing with this toxic substance The facts are out there.

“That is why it is all the more alarming to find out that asbestosrelated incidents are still taking place within this community, causing risk of exposure to individuals.”

“Council leaders and contractors have a duty of care to their workers and putting them in a situation which could potentially lead to asbestos exposure, knowing the dangers posed, is frankly appalling.

“Penalties must be severe on those that place workers and the public at risk.”

The FOI results state that: “Listed are the majority of asbestos removal works that have taken place in schools in the last five years.

“However, there have been a number of projects that include works to remove asbestos, carried out as part of larger refurbishment contracts.

“These works were minor in nature and were a very small part of a larger project.”

In 2016, more than £193,000 was spent on projects to remove asbestos from city schools.

This year to date, a further £115,583 has been invested in specialist removal.

In August, the substance was discovered at Hazlehead Academy and removed, the council accepts, “without agreement on safe working practices”.

The substance was found when corrugated cement panels were removed by a sub-contractor carrying out window replacements.

Just weeks before, it was revealed that 25 staff continued to work on repairs at Bridge of Don Academy despite asbestos being found and crudely disposed of in a nearby skip.

A council investigation revealed there was no emergency response as a line manager “forgot” about the incident for five days.

The redacted report said procedures failed before and after the asbestos insulation board incident.

It detailed how, on July 12, a worker was using a hammer and chisel to remove plasterboard facing.

Concern was raised about the material being removed and, after it was decided it could contain asbestos, it was doublebagged and left beside a skip.

It was not until July 17 that the required emergency procedures were initiated for the first time.

A site clean-up was initiated and two vehicles that were used were then quarantined for deep-cleaning.

On July 19, results from samples confirmed the presence of brown asbestos in the insulating board.

In the days following the incident, teachers, janitors, cleaners and other workers were all revealed to have been on the school’s premises, at risk of being exposed to asbestos.

Responding to the £593,273 spent on removing asbestos in the last five years, SNP councillor Alex Nicoll stressed that safety was of the utmost concern.

He said: “Removing asbestos is an expensive process and this is definitely not an area where we, as a council, should be trying to do anything on the cheap as the safety of our staff and pupils is paramount.”

A council spokeswoman said of the spending and the union criticism: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our staff is a priority and we work closely with trade unions to ensure high standards are maintained.”

“Council leaders have a duty of care to their workers”