A council has been plunged into chaos after its record when it comes to identifying and dealing with asbestos was hit by another dangerous instance of discovering the material.
St Mary's Church of England Primary in Walthamstow was due to be relocated to the site of the former Warwick School in Brooke Road, but the move is said to be in "disarray" following the emergence of asbestos at the latter of the two schools, reports the local Guardian series.
The £3 million plan would have allowed the school to treble its intake of new pupils in the coming years.
In the run-up to the switch, three classes and 18 staff moved to the Brooke Road site last September, but the discovery of asbestos last month has cast doubt over the whole project. The local council is already being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive over its handling of an asbestos issue at Waltham Forest Town Hall.
One source is quoted by the newspaper as suggesting the whole episode has been a "shambles", adding the council should have known about the asbestos sooner and dealt with it.
Asbestos is known to be the most common cause of work-related deaths in the UK, so it is imperative that businesses and organisations do not allow their staff to be exposed to it. The toxic fibre can lead to a number of conditions in future years and, on occasions, death.
The newspaper went on to note that, in the case of St Mary's Church of England Primary, the discovery of asbestos at the site it planned to move to was made only a few weeks before the change was due to take place.
Such instances can serve as a reminder of the importance of performing adequate inspections prior to moving in to a property to ensure asbestos is not a problem.
