Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), the lightweight and low-cost concrete utilised in roofing and wall construction in many civil buildings, was recently found to be at risk of collapse in many UK schools due to its estimated 30-year life span.
Emergency repair work is required for more than 150 UK schools; however, this may be subject to delay since the use of RAAC between the 1950s and 1990s was often in conjunction with asbestos. According to National Education General Secretary Daniel Keeble, in a recent interview with Sky, the risks to school children are ‘high’ when asbestos exposure and RAAC are mixed.
When RAAC was used in widespread construction, approximately 14,900 UK schools were built. In data published by the Department of Education in 2019, asbestos is present in 81% of England schools, despite the substance being banned in 1999.
Overall, in the UK, it is suspected that 300,000 non-domestic buildings still contain asbestos despite ongoing calls for the substance to be removed.
In July 2023, the NASWUT teaching union appealed for prompt measures to be introduced to eliminate asbestos from school buildings. A Work and Pensions Select Committee report in April 2022 recommended that the government establish a 40-year deadline for asbestos removal in non-domestic buildings, with particular attention to high-risk environments such as schools.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the number of female teachers dying from asbestos-related lung cancer is increasing, with 5,000 asbestos-related deaths in 2019 overall in the UK. Meanwhile, although asbestos registers are intended to assist public buildings in keeping track of the location of the material for safety purposes, the HSE has raised concerns regarding non-compliance.
Schools dealing with ongoing issues of RAAC will now receive assistance from a dedicated caseworker. However, how potential asbestos exposure will be addressed and managed remains uncertain. You can find the government’s official statement on RAAC here.
For further information on this matter, please refer to this source.
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