Lee Brennan Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Just some advise please, Recently took over a theatre which was very run down, one of the first issues which came to light was the asbestos in the building, after an asbestos report, the fire curtain is full of asbestos, which has to be removed within the next twelve months. During now and when it's removed, if a fire arose, do I make the decision to use it, and put the audience at risk of coming into contact with the asbestos, or leave it and then face the music with powers that be. I have spoken to the fire officer and he is unsure and looking into it for me, I don't think he wants to commit to saying anything until he knows for sure. Thanks for your time Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Do a risk assessment. Document it. Make sure that an asbestos expert is involved as well as the fire officer. What presents the greatest danger - the risk of being trapped in an inferno, or the risk of asbestos-related disease in 30 years time? I know what I'd choose... A few days ago, I went on an "asbestos awareness course". We expected it to be one of those really tedious H&S courses that you have to go on to keep the safety people happy. We decided to send everyone who was involved in installations work, or who may have reason to enter a riser or plant area. It turned out to be one of the most informative courses I've been on.... The key aspect of this is how "friable" is the asbestos. That's the technical term for "crumbly". Asbestos, if undisturbed, is harmless. It's only if fibres are inhaled that you have problems. Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 And different types of asbestos have very different toxicological impact. There is evidence that one type is as safe as the modern replacement materials, if not safer. I have data or a URL somewhere. I'll look... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 And different types of asbestos have very different toxicological impact. There is evidence that one type is as safe as the modern replacement materials, if not safer. I have data or a URL somewhere. I'll look...<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Our asbestos guru said there is also evidence that says that that evidence is nonsense You should interpret it as meaning that some replacement materials may be as dangerous as, rather than asbestos is as safe as.... There are basically about 6 types of asbestos. 3 were in common use - can't remember the proper names, but commonly known as white, blue, brown. Some people say white is "safer" - the justification being that the HSE limit for exposure to white is about 50% higher than for the others. The fibre structure is also different; blue and brown have long straight fibres, with barbed ends which resemble a fishhook... There is a "league table of badness". It doesn't really matter what type of asbestos is involved, what does matter is the friability. The worst offender by far is limpet, or sprayed asbestos.Next comes things like asbestos rope and lagging.Then ceiling tiles and wall coatingsAt the bottom of the list is asbestos cement (like my garage roof), floor tiles, brake shoes - in fact any highly compressed medium. Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 To me, that sounds like a decision that your licensing authority should be involved in. If you explain the situation to them, and tell them that you're not sure which would be the lesser of the two evils (not dropping the iron in the event of a fire, or dropping it and filling the air with asbestos particles), I reckon it would be reasonable for you to ask them to make a recommendation as to what you should do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete McCrea Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 As Bruce says there needs to be a properly carried out assesment of the situation. I'd highly recommend getting a registered company involved at this point. They have the knowledge that I'd guess a lot of us don't, and as others have said, getting the licensing people involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Not the link I was looking for, but I will keep looking! http://www.asbestoswatchdog.co.uk/need.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 From past experience with asbestos in my theatre, the local council are the ones who say yes or no. Our iron is asbestos clad, but after inspection is ok to use as there is no sign that it is shedding material. After our small fire last year, they tested again on ten different occasions to see if fibres from the fire damaged outer asbestos sheets on the building were in the air. It took these ten tests before we were given the all clear. I may well be wrong, but the fire officer isn't the certificating person for asbestos, this is the environmental heath officer (at least in our borough). Our other theatre will not open again as the rolling asbestos safety curtain has for many years been shedding material like mad every time it was dropped. Cleaning the exisiting building isn't a cost effective process, so it's being pulled down and re-built as a general entertainment venue (i.e. no theatre) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Brennan Posted January 19, 2005 Author Share Posted January 19, 2005 We are waiting for the council to produce a asbestos management report, but for the moment all they have advised us is to have the curtain removed within the next twelve months. As the borough hasn't much understanding of theatre practice, all I seem to get, is passed from pillar to post, with who makes the decision. Hence my contact with the fire officer. The scary thing is - is when we took over the building, the senior technician recommended that the curtain be tested every month, although there is no record or any tests for the past three years! Cheers Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 The scary thing is - is when we took over the building, the senior technician recommended that the curtain be tested every month, although there is no record or any tests for the past three years! Cheers Lee<{POST_SNAPBACK}> If you have a safety curtain, do you not have a local licencing requirement to drop it in the presence of every audience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 OK, the link I was looking for refers to the Asbestos Watchdog site where they have an academic paper on the risks presented by the various types. If you do have the wrong stuff, it is a big problem. However, don't leap to conclusions. Do the research before letting anyone close you down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Brennan Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 When the Co took over and the transfer of License (in name) from X to Y, we applied to have an open theatre license, which doesn't require the use of it at all, but it does have to be removed, with it still being in situe - the question I was concerned about was do I or don't I use it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 We are waiting for the council to produce a asbestos management report, but for the moment all they have advised us is to have the curtain removed within the next twelve months.If you've not got the asbestos report yet, on what basis are they advising removal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Brennan Posted January 21, 2005 Author Share Posted January 21, 2005 We are awaiting the management report - not the actual report. Cheers Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Not a theatre I know, the signs on HMS Belfast say that there is much asbestos in the pipe lagging but that is is safe while completely covered in paint. Will your fire curtain respond to a coat of paint, will that suit your licensing authority, and environmentalhealth officer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.