Sahar Mourad
Caring

Children and teachers potentially exposed to asbestos for years

Parents have been left fuming after finding out their children and teachers were exposed to the lethal material asbestos. 

Asbestos was detected in several classrooms at Castle Hill High School back in 2016 but the NSW Department of Education said the report came back negative.

Students and teachers had already complained about weird dust particles falling from the roof to the point where they collected samples to get them tested. 

ClearSafe Environmental Solutions, an independent testing facility, tested the particle and found the dust contained chrysotile asbestos and amosite asbestos.

Then in 2020, the school was shut down from May 16 to June 15 where remediation work was carried out.

A NSW Department of Education spokesperson confirmed asbestos is no longer a threat to the school following the remediation.

“All air monitoring undertaken at the time returned results below or equal to the minimum detection limit,” they said. 

“Testing was completed to ensure the areas were fully remediated and clearance certificates issued before the area was open to students and staff, in strict accordance with SafeWork NSW protocols.”

Despite this, NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell confirmed that an investigation will look into the Department of Education's Professional and Ethical Standards unit and SafeWork NSW.

Image: Facebook

Tags:
asbestos, Castle Hill High School, NSW Department of Education, NSW Education