Tests at a school in Wales, which was closed last month because of asbestos fears, have detected airborne-fibre levels up to ten times above the previously accepted background level for schools.
The school, which caters for more than 900 pupils, shut on 12 October after a structural report identified the presence of asbestos. Caerphilly County Borough Council released a further report in mid November, undertaken by Santia in the wake of the initial findings.
The report uncovered evidence of widespread contamination within the ceiling voids at the school, as well as damage to asbestos-insulating boards (AIBs) within some classrooms, caused by scrapes and scuffs from pupils vacating chairs and tables.
Tests also confirmed the presence of asbestos fibre in heater cabinets and unsealed AIB in other heaters. With the heaters in use for a period of four hours in the unoccupied school, the tests detected airborne fibre levels up to 0.007 fibres/cm3 – more than ten times above the accepted level for schools of 0.0005 fibres/cm3, as referred to in a government guidance document issued in 1999.