Cwmcarn High School, which closed over asbestos fears, should re-open according to its governors and headteacher
The school was closed on October 12 last year after a report by Santia Asbestos Management Ltd recommended that school buildings should be demolished because of widespread airborne asbestos. Since then, the school’s pupils have re-located to the former Coleg Gwent campus in Ebbw Vale.
But a report published by the Health and Safety Executive laboratory (HSL) has said the original findings by Santia may have been overstated. Another report by company Ensafe, commissioned by the school itself, found the decision by the council to close the school was “understandable” but not supported by any airborne fibre testing sample results.
Now, a statement released by the governors has said the school should re-open.
The staement reads: “The conclusions reached in the Santia report overstated the potential health and safety risks within the school premises, such that a complete closure of the school premises was in our view unnecessary and inappropriate. Both our independent report and the HSL report have raised questions over the method of testing used by Santia and the basis on which their conclusions were drawn. We all now know that the Santia report was based on airborne testing of various fibres (as opposed to just asbestos fibres) against a different standard from the limit of quantification.
“The council now advises that its concern relates to the risk posed by asbestos debris contained in the roof voids. However the majority of debris appears to have been in the roof void for some time (since the early 1990s) and has been managed in accordance with guidance provided by the council. The council has itself commissioned and carried out removal works in the vicinity of the debris on many occasions, being aware of its presence and has not previously considered it to pose a sufficient risk to require its removal before progressing with works. The debris and remediation required could have been removed without need to close the whole school and we do not know the reasons why the council chose to treat Cwmcarn differently from the other schools in the area where the removal of the asbestos took place with the school in situ.”
Caerphilly Council’s education councillor Rhianon Passmore has previously defended the council’s original decision to close the school.
Last month she said: “We fully appreciate that there is a lot of concern and confusion in the community about what exactly is happening at the school.
“Our priority is the safety, health and well-being of the pupils and staff and we make no apology for our swift and decisive decision to close the school in light of the information that was presented to us back in October.
“There is no question about whether asbestos is present at the site. It is a known fact that there are large quantities of asbestos material throughout the building, but of most concern to us is the significant amount of asbestos debris present in the ceiling and roof voids as well as the heater cabinets.
“What we are trying to establish is the level of risk that this causes to pupils and staff at the school.”
The council has drafted in what it calls an independent expert to assess the differing reports – something which the school disputes.
There is a significant amount of asbestos in most schools in CCBC each of which will operate under asbestos management guidance from CCBC. It certainly appears that CCBC has not handled this situation at all well, and costly mistakes have been made in more than merely monetary terms.