SINCE THE FIRST UK anti-asbestos laws were passed in 1993, UCL has been struggling to rid its buildings of as much asbestos as possible. Fifteen years later, and despite much surveying and removal work having taken place, The Cheese Grater is unnerved to find that many buildings still harbour badly-damaged pieces of the cancer-causing substance, and is starting to wonder if College is only concerned with toeing the legal line.
Examples of asbestos-containing materials in UCL's buildings range from lift shaft components to toilet cisterns and air duct parts, with the most unusual finding made by inspectors being a bag marked "asbestos" found in the Windeyer Building. 26 Bedford Way, which is home to the Psychology and Geography departments, is one of the most asbestos-ridden buildings, with over 600 offending items spread across eight floors.
The law requires that steps are taken to locate and document all asbestos in workplaces, following which all reasonable efforts should be made to either remove or seal-up any asbestos in order to prevent or at least reduce exposure to employees. While UCL hire contractors to remove the offending items in a piecemeal fashion, a quick look at College’s asbestos database reveals that a number of damaged objects earmarked for removal some time ago are still present across the campus.
Illegal
For instance, asbestos debris in the basement of UCL’s main building recommended for removal in 2005 was still present when the inspectors returned two and a half years later. Meanwhile, an air duct in the New Engineering Building (opened in 2005) was reported as having been cleared of asbestos debris in June 2006, and yet a later survey found that asbestos still remained. The debris consists of amphibole asbestos, the use of which has been illegal in the UK since 1993, although Estates & Facilities put the debris down to the adjoining Robert’s Building. which was constructed before asbestos laws came into place.
Not good
Of particular note is the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre. some, if not all of the concrete yeams above its oft-used lighting rig are covered with highly-damaged asbestos debris, a fact that has been known since June 2005 when positive samples were taken from twelve different spots. Despite this, the inspectors later returned to find that no steps had been taken to remove or encapsulate the debris. On hearing about this, one thesp remarked ‘oh that’s good, isn’t it” and pointed out that the area wasn’t ‘usually inaccessible” as the reports stated.
Elsewhere, damaged lumps of asbestos-containing material which could have been made safe by sealing them away have been left exposed. Examples can be found in Astor College residential hall, the medical school’s Rockefeller Building, the Union building at 25 Gordon Street, and in a sprinkling of rooms in the recently-refurbished Foster Court, home to UCL’s language Jepartments.
When asked, Estates & Facilities confirmed that College's asbestos database is up-to-date, and stated that their program of asbestos removal and encapsulation is “on-going”. While they have made a degree of progress, it seems that Estates & Facilities are being a little lacklustre when it comes to removing dangerous materials that they have known about for some time.