Asbestos in Playground

(Photo: UGC TNW)

In the news this week was a report that a north wales man found asbestos in the playground that his children were regularly using!

The Daily Mirror reported on 5th April that ;

“The man who found the asbestos, Tim Watson, said: “I was just passing through the playground last Tuesday when I spotted what looked suspiciously like asbestos was being used as infill for a rocking horse ride for a small child.

“I contacted the council who quite swiftly sent people in space suits to remove the material.

“It had been newly dumped there and covered in cement, but the workmen were nowhere to be seen.

“I am horrified this has happened.”

We need to stress that the asbestos in playground found in Colwyn bay is definitely not the norm, by and large the local authorities that safeline environmental deals with are extremely cautious with the buildings that they manage, and judging by the report in the newspaper Conway council are no exception to this.

The problem with legacy asbestos use is that the product was so widespread in its use that records of its use were never kept. The local authorities face an uphill battle to identify and then remove or encapsulate (leave in situ, but cover or treat the product to trap the fibres) asbestos found in their building stocks. Asbestos surveys of suspected materials in old buildings (built pre-1999) are the only way to be sure that asbestos is identified and dealt with correctly.

Safeline Environmental is a specialist in asbestos survey and removal and works with a wide range of clients from local authorities, schools right to the other end of the spectrum of individual homeowners and private landlords.

If you are concerned that there could be asbestos in your environment then contact Safeline Environmental and we can survey the suspected substance.