The officials will visit schools across the UK to assess the management of asbestos in buildings.
Credit: Alamy Stock
Inspectors for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will contact schools to arrange a time to visit in order to look at how the material’s risks are managed and if those responsible are meeting legal requirements.
The regulator will begin the programme to inspect primary and secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales from next month (OCT).
The HSE wants to see that schools are meeting the ‘duty to manage’ (DTM) requirements under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR).
They will speak to those with knowledge of how asbestos is managed by the school and may also ask to see documents such as an asbestos register and management plan.
In announcing the programme the HSE said: “In advance of the inspections, schools may wish to review their current arrangements and check that they are meeting their duties under CAR, which includes requirements to take reasonable steps to find out if there are asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in the school premises, and if so, the amount, where it is and what condition it is in.
“They should presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not.
“They should make, and keep up to date, a record of the location and condition of any ACMs – or materials which are presumed to contain asbestos. A requirement is to assess the risk of anyone being exposed to fibres from the materials identified. They should prepare an asbestos management plan (AMP) that sets out in detail how the risks from these materials will be managed and take the necessary steps to put the plan into action.
“Another requirement is to periodically review and monitor the plan and the arrangements, and act on the findings, so the plan and arrangements remain relevant and up to date.
“And also provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on, or disturb them.”
The HSE has recently updated their Asbestos management – checklist for schools, a summary of the key measures that schools should have in place to manage the risks from asbestos effectively.
An inspection campaign was carried out during the last academic year and the HSE will be looking to see that and areas of improvement that were identified have now been addressed. You can see the findings of the 2022/23 inspection campaign here.
Meanwhile, the HSE is continuing to look into the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) at schools in light of crumbling concrete identified in a number of buildings.
You can see SHP’s full timeline on this story here.
The HSE has recently updated its guidance on managing risk from RAAC and stressed that any work to inspect or remediate RAAC should not disturb any asbestos containing materials if they are present.
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