Downham Market High School Emergency Works

Asbestech were recently called on for urgent assistance at Downham Market High School in Norfolk, after a stray football caused significant damage to a ceiling that was constructed of Asbestos Insulating Board (AIB). The ceiling panels were located in the

boys changing room for the gym, which was immediately evacuated by the staff and sealed off. Unfortunately, this left a group of boys without their schoolbags - including their schoolbooks and revision notes for their impending GCSE’s.

Asbestech were able to get an experienced Site Supervisor to the school at very short notice, who constructed a fully tented enclosure with a viewing panel so that each bag could be opened up in the view of the staff and pupils. This enabled an inventory to be made of each bag so that everybody was clear what needed to be replaced.

This covered any insurance claims for the contaminated property, but the question remained about the boys’ schoolwork. Asbestech responded quickly by setting up two scanning stations inside a fully controlled area. Our team worked flat out taking each schoolbook, scanning it in to a pc and then burning it onto a CD for each pupil. Thanks to the fast response, in just a few days each schoolboy had a complete copy of all of their schoolwork and revision notes to help them to successfully tackle their exams.

Once the urgent scanning work had been completed the team set to work clearing up the area in the changing room, completely removing the AIB ceiling and undertaking a full environmental clean of the area - confirmed by an independent analytical company using a four stage clearance process - to ensure that no further contaminants remained, enabling the school to reopen the changing room as quickly as possible.