Asbestos in Jersey Schools

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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES BY DEPUTY J.A. HILTON OF ST. HELIER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 3rd JUNE 2014

Question

Would the Minister advise –

Whether any primary or secondary schools currently have asbestos and, if so, which schools and what type of asbestos is it, what type of material is in it and is it in places vulnerable to damage from the children?

Whether he is confident that there is no risk of harm to the people using the Highlands College Campus, given that asbestos is present around windows and doors within the buildings?

Whether Jersey Property Holdings (JPH) inspects off site buildings such as Parish halls and community centres which are used by Highlands College for classes?

Given that it is costing £114,000 per annum to manage, monitor and remove asbestos, does the Minister not believe that it makes economic sense to plan to remove all asbestos in a phased way?

Can the Minister confirm what classification has been put on school buildings in respect of their risk level e.g. low, medium or high?

What safety measures, if any, are in place and what monitoring happens to ensure that ESC are complying with their SLA and the process is quality controlled?

Can the Minister confirm that inspection reports exist for the years between 2008 and 2011 for all ESC sites that have asbestos and can he provide them?

Answer

This answer relates to schools under the management of the States, which are maintained by Jersey Property Holdings (JPH). JPH does not hold information on private schools.

The following Primary and Secondary school sites under States management have Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) present:

Primary

St Martins Primary School and Nursery Bel Royal School

Greenfields Centre SEN School

D Hautree House School

St Luke's Primary School

First Tower School

St Lawrence School

Les Landes School

St Saviours School

Victoria College Preparatory School

Secondary

Grainville Secondary School Les Quennevais School

Le Rocquier Sports Block Victoria College

In both Primary and Secondary schools all known asbestos that remains in situ is in good condition and in areas where it can be managed with the appropriate procedures that are in place.  

There is no risk from this remaining in place in its current condition and this is monitored in accordance with the Approved Code of Practice 8 Revised (ACoP) guidelines.

The Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) identified within the Primary and Secondary schools are a mixture of the following materials:-

• Product Type 1 - Asbestos reinforced composites (plastics, resins, mastics, roofing felts, vinyl floor tiles, semi-rigid paints or decorative finishes, asbestos cement, etc.)
• Product Type 2 - Asbestos insulating board, mill boards, other low density insulation boards, asbestos textiles, gaskets, ropes and woven textiles, asbestos paper and felt
• Product Type 3 - Thermal insulation (e.g. pipe and boiler lagging), sprayed asbestos, loose asbestos, asbestos mattresses and packing

JPH has rated the removal of ACMs from schools as a high priority and whenever the opportunity of property vacation due to school holidays, etc. and where budget has permitted the instruction to undertake removal they have done so.

There are areas that can be accessed by school children but the ACM is of a very low risk (Type 1) and controlled by communication and regular monitoring.

The Highlands campus buildings that contain ACMs are re-inspected on an annual basis with a written report issued confirming the findings. If there are any identified changes in the condition of the materials these are flagged up to JPH immediately. There is always a potential risk with buildings containing ACMs as the re-inspections are a Management Survey' which is a non-intrusive visual inspection. However the management plans and procedures put in place by both JPH and ES&C/Highlands facilities staff are very robust and set out procedures that both parties have to adhere to which safeguard the facility users from exposure.

JPH does not undertake the inspection of properties outside of its management such as Parish Hall s or Community Centres as they are the legal responsibility of the property owner.

The costs of removing all the known ACMs from the property portfolio are estimated to be in the region of approximately £3 million and would cause extensive disruption to the property users due to the locality of  the  ACMs.  In  certain circumstances  this  would  involve  the  usage  of  temporary  classrooms  and additional costs above the cost of removal. Therefore the decision has been made to manage the ACMs through stringent documentation and procedures and to remove only as part of any refurbishment or redevelopment plans.

JPH classifies properties depending on the annual inspection report overall property score and takes the appropriate management action. The scoring methodology is set out below. There are no high risk ACMs in publicly accessible areas

• Cumulative score 10 to 12 - This is allocated to those items requiring urgent attention as they currently, or in the foreseeable future, present an unacceptable risk. High risk.
• Cumulative score 7 to 9 - These are items which as single entities have a high risk of being damaged/ disturbed or where there is an accumulation of asbestos materials in a single location that when examined as a whole have a high risk of being damaged/ disturbed. Medium risk.

• Cumulative score 5 to 6 - These are items that have no, or very little, sign of historical damage and are usually board or panels, which are not easily accessed. Low risk.
• Cumulative score 4 or less - This covers asbestos cement, resins, Artex, plastics, rubber etc. containing asbestos, which do not generally present a significant risk. Very low risk.

JPH has bi-monthly meetings with the ESC Directorate to ensure any matters of concern are raised and actioned by the relevant party. The monitoring of asbestos and any other deleterious materials is a standing item on the agenda. JPH also continually review the documentation in place and have undertaken a total re-inspection and re-drafting of the site specific Asbestos Management Plans (AMPs) to reflect specific improvements.

JPH has also been working with the States Corporate Health and Safety Manager and the Health and Safety Inspectorate to improve procedures further and provide input into the Corporate Asbestos Policy.

Both departments are working closely together to ensure that the safety of the property users is a high priority and are adopting a consistent approach to the delivery of Asbestos Management. The priority is to remain compliant with the current Approved Code of Practice and continually review internal policies and procedures.

Inspection reports exist for all of the ES&C properties constructed prior to year 2000 and under the control of JPH. ACMs are not present in properties constructed after 2000.