To be concerned about Asbestos Exposure as part of school construction work?

[TheZanyBear]

Hi all,

I’m honestly quite shaken and could really do with some advice or just a bit of reassurance.

A local school (Seamab) is undergoing some pretty major construction to build a new school building. It’s now come to light that the construction company (Algo) has disturbed asbestos as part of this construction work, and the car park site for the school contains chunks of damaged asbestos materials lying around.

What’s really worrying is that the school kids, staff, carers etc have all been present during this work and have been using the car park where this material has been damaged and exposed. I don’t believe proper safety protocols were followed and communication about this has been vague at best. I know it has been reported to Health + Safety, but they have said they are not investigating?!

I’m absolutely beside myself worrying about long-term exposure risks – not just for me, but especially for the children. I know asbestos-related illnesses usually take years to develop, but that almost makes it worse because it feels like a ticking time bomb. I have a young son myself and I can’t help but cry thinking that I might not be there for him in the future, just because I was present while this has been happening.

Has anyone been through anything similar or have any knowledge about what should be happening in terms of safety, testing, or next steps? I’m trying not to panic but I feel like this isn’t being taken seriously enough by the powers that be and that it could all be covered up. Who can I contact if the health and safety executive themselves aren’t going to look into this?

I'm so worried, but I have no idea if I'm being paranoid or unreasonable?

There is asbestos in many many buildings. It was a common fire retardant material pre 1980s. A lot of it is very stable and if it is stable sometimes it is kept in place because it just costs too much to remove. Places like schools will have an asbestos register. It is most dangerous to the construction workers who are likely to have repeat exposure to it if they disturb it/ try to remove it themselves. If they find it, work stops and it is dealt with by specialists. I cannot see how you can be exposed to it if not in an enclosed space with loose material. I work on old buildings and regularly come across asbestos so I mean this kindly but you need to calm down and stop panicking

YABU This level of anxiety is what will damage your child, not something that is in the environment that has been deemed to be safe.
You say "beside yourself" which is absolutely an extreme reaction to an imagined " ticking time bomb"