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The issue of managing asbestos in school buildings has been in the news again with a new report from the Education Funding Association finding that at least 20 percent of schools in the UK do not have fully documented plans, processes and procedures in place to manage the asbestos in their school’s buildings.

Following a campaign to raise awareness of this, Global Environmental was instructed to carry out a GAP analysis on the asbestos management plans for a major independent school.

Working closely with the Bursar and Health & Safety Manager, Global reviewed the 40 school buildings and 60 staff flats in over 40 acres of land, putting in place an asbestos management plan which has been successfully adopted and installed into the school’s management system.

The school has now asked Global Environmental for specific advice regarding one of the buildings, which also happens to be listed, prior to refurbishment.

“There should be no ambiguity here,” says Paul Phillips, Operations Manager at Global Environmental.  “The same regulations apply to all buildings regardless of listed status.  If you have permission to carry out works on a listed building you then have automatic authority to carry out all relevant asbestos surveys, their listed status does not exempt them from being surveyed.”

“Of course, our surveyors understand the historical importance of such buildings and that they should be approached with great care, enabling expert reinstatement to the same standard; a suitable dialogue with the appropriate experts should be in place to establish a sympathetic method. They also know that anything built before 1850 and untouched since then should not contain asbestos so these areas need not be disturbed.”

Click to download Global Environmental’s guide to managing asbestos in schools.  Any school wishing to take advantage of Global Environmental’s expertise in this area should call 020 7300 7288 to set up an initial meeting.