Anger after biggest schools on Gold Coast left waiting three decades to decontaminate asbestos

Two of the biggest schools on the Gold Coast will undergo work to remove the deadly material almost thirty years after it was first discovered at the sites. READ THE FULL STORY

The state government has come under fire over the removal of asbestos from two of the Coast’s biggest and oldest schools almost 30 years after the deadly material was first discovered in other buildings at the sites.

Both Southport State High School and Miami State High School, with a combined 3000 students, will undergo $1.3 million in work to remove asbestos-laced insulation from two buildings.

Testing first done in 1995 confirmed Miami SHS’s English/Humanities building as well as Southport SHS’s J Block both contained Light Density Asbestos Fibre Board (LDB) insulation throughout the ceilings.

Block J at Southport State High School will undergo work to remove asbestos fibre insulation, 28 years after first discovering it. Picture: Glenn Campbell

This upcoming work, slated for the Christmas holidays, comes just two years after the emergency removal of asbestos from Southport High.

In 2021 an audit of Queensland public schools found the potentially deadly cancer-causing substance used in the construction of the century-old school had deteriorated, becoming “unstable” and “severely damaged” prompting an $88,903 removal job that year.

State Member for Bonney Sam O’Connor, whose electorate takes in Southport High, took aim at the state government for the time taken to remove the asbestos in stages.

“It should not take that long – that’s crazy to me,” he said.

“I don’t understand why it’s taken so long, particularly if it was identified as an issue back then.

“This is a serious health matter especially for older schools like Southoprt State High. It’s the bare minimum that students should have a safe environment to learn in.”

Asbestos is a deadly material that causes severe lung diseases, cancer and in the worst cases – can lead to death.

Since 2015, 22 asbestos removal projects costing a total of $504,405.92 have been completed at Southport SHS. At Miami SHS, 20 removal projects costing a total of $127,125.51 has also been completed since 2015.

In the last four years, more than 100 schools across the state have reported around 160 “asbestos exposure incidents” – 19 incidents in 2019, 88 in 2020, 58 in 2021 and 46 in 2022.

In 2021, asbestos removal across state schools cost the taxpayer a total of $13.6 million.

When asked why it had taken 28 years to get rid of asbestos from the two buildings, Education Queensland said the insulation was undisturbed and in good condition and therefore had a “relatively low health risk”.

“All forms of asbestos-based product manufacturing have been nationally banned since 2003,” the department added.

“However, the prohibition does not mean that all asbestos containing materials installed prior to this date need to be removed.”

It comes after the government made the decision to switch from monthly to biannual reporting of asbestos identification at schools.

“The government need to be upfront about the data. They’ve gone from reporting on asbestos at schools every month to only reporting it every six months and the data is very difficult to go through and understand,” Mr O’Connor said.

“It shouldn’t be for Queenslanders – for parents – to trawl through thousands upon thousands of rows on spreadsheet to find out whether their school has asbestos.”

The English/Humanities building at Miami State High School will undergo work to remove asbestos fibre insulation, 28 years after first discovering it. Picture: Glenn Campbell

A Department of Education spokeswoman told the Bulletin: “The safety and wellbeing of students and staff in Queensland schools is of the highest priority for the Department of Education.

“No students or staff are permitted to be onsite during the removal of asbestos containing materials (ACM).”

The repairs are part of a $107.9 million state government-funded Asbestos Management Plan to remove low-density asbestos fibre boards from all state schools over the next four years.

Between 2020 and 2021, the state spent a total of $249,192 to remove asbestos containing materials (ACM) from eight Gold Coast public schools.

The spokeswoman added: “Following the ACM removal the classrooms will be refurbished. This is expected to be completed prior to Term 1, 2024.”

Originally published as Anger after biggest schools on Gold Coast left waiting three decades to decontaminate asbestos