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16
WQ.165/2018
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR INFRASTRUCTURE BY DEPUTY C.S. ALVES OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 2018
Question
Will the Minister provide a list of States-owned buildings in which asbestos is present; and will he advise –
- how, if at all, users of, and workers in, these buildings are informed of the location of asbestos; and
- what precautions are put in place to minimise exposure to asbestos by the people within these buildings?
Answer
- Attached is a report that lists the 185 Publicly owned buildings that have Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) present, which was recently published in response to an FOI Request -
https://www.gov.je/Government/Pages/StatesReports.aspx?ReportID=3825
Jersey Property Holdings (JPH) have Asbestos Management Plans (AMPs) in place for all known asbestos within buildings under its direct control. These plans contain:-
- Copies of the Asbestos surveys
- Detailed plans of the building, which identify the presence of asbestos.
- Photographs of the relevant areas to aid identification.
- Emergency procedures to follow should asbestos be disturbed.
All Properties constructed prior to 2000 have had an Asbestos Management Survey and where ACMs are found the properties are re-inspected at least annually. Asbestos management plans are available on all sites.
If Asbestos Management Surveys do not find any visible asbestos, this is noted in the Property Log book. Both the log book and AMP's are available in each building and are reviewed by all contractors prior to the commencement of any works to ensure that they are aware of areas where asbestos has been identified. If the work involves any structural breach then a full Refurbishment and Demolition (R&D) survey is completed prior to the commencement of any work.
All relevant JPH staff have undertaken asbestos awareness training and JPH is confident that they have the appropriate knowledge and expertise to be able to recognise and manage the potential presence of asbestos.
Some Public buildings are maintained directly by the user departments, such as the General Hospital and Overdale Site, Fire Service Headquarters, Philip Le Feuvre House and HM Prison La Moye. All departments follow the Approved Code of Practice 8 Revised (ACoP) guidelines, which came into force on 1st October 2009, in connection with asbestos management.
The amount of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) present differs greatly from building to building, and in many cases can consist solely of roofing felt on a building, a redundant gasket within a building, a resin pad beneath a stainless steel sink or thermal insulation within a kiln or boiler room.
- All buildings constructed prior to 2000 have an initial "Asbestos Management Survey" to determine the presence of ACM's and the levels of risk presented. Where asbestos is identified as being present, the building is re-inspected at least annually. All types of surveys carried out for the States of Jersey conform to the relevant requirements contained in the "UK Health and Safety Executives" publication, "HSG264 Asbestos – The Survey Guide" which can be found here –
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pUbns/priced/hsg264.pdf
JPH has developed emergency procedures to be followed in the event of an ACM being accidently disturbed. These procedures include steps to be taken to minimise the risk of further exposure to asbestos and the measures in place to carry out emergency repairs. These procedures will be incorporated into the relevant parts of the AMP and the Property Log Book
If there is a suspicion that asbestos has been disturbed the areas is vacated and secured. Specialist contractors are employed to sample the material to confirm the presence and type of asbestos. Air samples may be taken to provide reassurance and the area cleaned. Once further air sampling results are reviewed and show the area to be "clean" the occupants can return to the area.
There is no recognised monitoring schedule for staff who work in a building where asbestos material is present. However, where there has been a potential for exposure to an individual a record of this exposure will be kept within the individual's personal file held by Human Resources.