09:00 - 13 January 2006
Asbestos has been discovered during surveys of an Aberdeen secondary school, council bosses admitted last night.
But officials from Aberdeen City Council moved to reassure parents that children are not at risk and the situation at Torry Academy is being closely monitored.
The council made the statement to the Press and Journal after incomplete documents from two surveys of the school emerged, suggesting high risk levels of the substance had been found.
The surveys were carried out in October 2004 and in October last year.
They recommended that the material should be removed from specific areas, consisting mainly of boiler-rooms.
However, parts of classrooms, a toilet block and laboratories were also found to be in poor condition.
They also state that insulation residue in part of the loft at the school - which has about 500 pupils - should be removed.
The reports highlight 14 samples taken during the inspections which were given a "high risk" rating.
The first report recommends the removal of all asbestos in very poor condition or where refurbishment is planned.
A council spokeswoman admitted that the inspections at Torry Academy identified the presence of asbestos in a small number of areas.
But she insisted that most of these areas are not accessible through normal use of the building, as they are within the boiler-room, plant room and in loft spaces.
“Asbestos is present in many buildings of a certain age but asbestos-based material does not pose a risk unless it is disturbed, she added.
“Legislation for dealing with asbestos in buildings has been in place for some time.
Revised guidelines have now come into force and major landlords such as the council are required to compile a database or register of properties which contain asbestos based materials and to prepare a programme of action for managing the presence of the material.
To compile this database inspections are being carried out at buildings owned by the council, including schools and community centres.
She added: “The information given to the P&J was an incomplete version of a draft report which has not been presented to the city council. Some of that work has already been done.
“We are satisfied that the building is currently safe and fit for purpose and cannot stress enough that asbestos-based material does not pose a risk unless it is disturbed.
“Even then, it is only potentially harmful if the fibres are inhaled or ingested, neither of which is likely during normal activities at the school.
She insisted the situation is being kept under review and the health and safety of pupils and staff is of paramount importance.
Pupils at the academy include youngsters from Walker Road Primary School who were moved after dangerous levels of the deadly substance were found at that school in September last year.
SNP North East MSP Richard Lochhead has written to the council after being told that only two samples were taken during an initial survey of the school, believed to have been carried out four months earlier.
With both of those surveys proving negative, the go-ahead was given for the refurbishment work.
It was only after the asbestos was discovered by a workman in September that the council commissioned an external consultant to conduct a much larger-scale survey of the school.
Mr Lochhead has called on the council’s chief executive, Douglas Paterson, to clarify why external consultants did not carry out an extensive survey of the school at the outset.
Mr Lochhead said: “This information is very serious indeed, and I was shocked when I was informed that the council did not have an extensive asbestos survey in place before giving the green light to the refurbishment.
“My source informs me that taking such a low number of samples as the council originally took was never going to give a reliable picture of the situation, and it seems that this has been proven correct.
“One has to hope that lessons can be learned from this saga, and that the council will now put in place proper practices to ensure that extensive surveys for asbestos are undertaken before any refurbishments or maintenance are commissioned.
In response to Mr Lochhead’s comments, a council spokeswoman said: “We have received Mr Lochhead’s letter and will respond in due course, when we have established which specific tests he is referring to.
“As we have stated previously, it was confirmed that there was asbestos in the underground area below the ground floor of the nursery part of the building.
“The classrooms were not being used at the time due to the ongoing work.
Bob Gibb, vice-chairman of Torry Community Council, suggested the city council could be faced with a huge bill if work was required at all its schools where asbestos traces were found.
He said: “We must hope that they are not going to close the academy too.
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