On Tuesday evening January 27th an accident happened on the construction site at Kolegio San Bernardo. During asbestos removal a worker fell through the roof of the school. The worker was slightly injured. During the accident there was no danger for anyone concerned.
Immediate action
The school is cleaned of all existing asbestos, in accordance with the applicable European Dutch standards. Therefore right after the accident, action was taken according to the legally applicable protocol.
The work was stopped and the work area was cleared. An independent asbestos technician had inspected the area and on the basis of the results the work area was released. The Labour Inspectorate was also informed and had visited the construction site after the accident. The Labour Inspectorate had established that they acted correctly by locking off the premises, inspecting it, and on basis of the inspection to release it again.
No danger for the surroundings
The type of asbestos that is processed in the roof sheets is the less dangerous, the so-called ""friable asbestos", of which the asbestos fibers are stuck firmly in the material. The independent laboratory technician indicates that it is not desirable that the asbestos-containing roofing sheets break during a remediation, but it is not dangerous.
"Research and measurements from the past, by the Dutch research institute TNO, has shown that in similar situations; in which a plate of friable asbestos breaks, a not verifiable amount of fiber is released. This concentration of asbestos fibers that is released is so low that there is no risk or danger to health " according to the independent asbestos laboratory technician, who advises on the project.
This means that there has been no health danger for: the students, the teachers, the residents, the adjacent day care center and the construction workers.
On schedule
In the next 2 weeks the removal of phase 2 of the renovation of San Bernardo will be further completed under the watchful eye of the asbestos expert and the Labour Inspectorate. This is followed by the further demolition and building of the premises. It is expected that the renovation will be completed as scheduled in May 2014.