On Thursday September 27th all schools of Bonaire were together in the Plataforma di Enseñansa (Platform of Education), led by Commissioner of Education Mrs. Silvana Serfilia.
One of the agenda items was the improvement program of the school buildings on Bonaire. Part of this program are the asbestos removal actions that will be taken. During the summer holidays, an inventory was conducted in the school buildings by asbestos consulting and remediation agency Oesterbaai from the Netherlands. During the deliberation of the Platform, the schools were informed about the outcomes of the report and the measures that will be taken.
Over the next five years, all schools in Bonaire will be renovated. The asbestos present in the schools, will be removed at the time of renovation. During the Plataforma di Enseñansa meeting, Frans de Witte, program manager of the Royal Building Services (in Dutch: de Rijksgebouwendienst), presented an overview of the planned construction and renovation work. Subsequently, Dmitri Boers of the firm Oesterbaai presented an overview of the places where asbestos was found. He also elaborated about the measures that will be taken per building. He made it clear that the presence of asbestos in school buildings does not involve health risks. There are risks only when the asbestos-containing materials are removed and/or damaged (for example, by crushing, drilling, sanding or sawing). During the removal of asbestos, the regulations which apply in the European Netherlands, will be used. With that, the safety of students and staff is ensured.
From a study that took place some years ago, it has already become clear that in many buildings on Bonaire, including school buildings, there was asbestos material present. During the Summer holidays this year, a full inventory took place, commissioned by the Public Entity of Bonaire and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (In Dutch: Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (OCW)) to identify where there is asbestos in each school building. The findings by building of the firm Oesterbaai were put in writing in a report.
In the building of San Luis Bertran Kolegio no asbestos-containing materials were found. In all other schools (of Scholengemeenschap Bonaire, Kolegio San Bernardo, Kolegio Papa Kornes, the Watapana School, Kolegio Kristu Bon Wardador, Kolegio Reina Beatrix and De Pelikaan School) asbestos was found. It mainly concerns asbestos incorporated in roofing and ventilation pipes and ducts. In three schools (San Bernardo School, Pelikaan School and Watapana School) asbestos situations were found, which can not wait until the time of restoration of the school, to avoid danger for users of the schools. In the meantime, one of them has been addressed. It was a carport on the site of the San Bernardo School, with a asbestos roof that was heavily damaged. This roof was cleaned and removed in accordance with the European Dutch legislation in the field of asbestos. Meanwhile, for the asbestos situations at De Pelikaan School and the Watapana School concrete plans were made, which are being discussed with the schools involved. The situation on the Watapana School will be addressed next month, the situation on the Pelican School in January 2013.