Asbestos is still a major problem in hundreds of schools

Hundreds more schools have a dangerous kind of asbestos which has been rated as “high priority” for removal. See the full list.

The number of known schools with friable asbestos has grown in the past 18 months, according to new figures revealed in NSW Budget Estimates today.

Education bureaucrats have now identified 352 schools which have friable asbestos — a figure Labor upper house MP Courtney Houssos claimed had tripled from 109 schools from 2019.

But despite some of those being rated as “high priority” for removal, School Infrastructure NSW chief executive Anthony Manning said that did not mean they had to be removed but simply monitored.

The Department’s official Asbestos Management Plan defines friable asbestos as “any material that contains asbestos and is in a powder form or can be crumbled, pulverised or reduced to powder by hand pressure when dry”.

Hazardous asbestos found inside the school's heritage building during works to replace the roof. Picture: AAP Image / Darren Pateman

“More than half of the elements are in things like kilns and heaters … or vinyl floor tiles,” Mr Manning said.

“They are not decaying in the atmosphere … high priority means it doesn’t need to be removed.”

But according to the Department’s Asbestos Management Plan, friable asbestos has a high priority for removal.

The guide says friable asbestos is given a score of between six and eight.

It states: “High remediation priority, rating of (6 – 8) – ACM requires immediate removal or complete encapsulation.”

Courtney Houssos.

David Shoebridge.

Labor Upper House MP Courtney Houssos told the hearing that suggesting it was not dangerous was absurd.

“When we met 18 months ago there were 109 schools with friable asbestos. You have just informed the committee there are more than three times (that),” she said.

“We are talking about decaying friable asbestos … which can easily be perforated and rain down on students.”

Also at the estimates hearing, Greens upper house MP David Shoebridge raised his concerns that the extremist right wing Hindu group Vishwa Hindu Parishad was teaching religion classes at Toongabbie Public School and William Dean Public School in Dean Park.

“Minister what response do you have to the fact that this extremist right wing organisation, which is listed as such by the CIA in their World Factbook, is currently providing SRE courses in Toongabbie Public School and William Dean Public School,” he said.

“Is there a vetting process to ensure that extremist views are not communicated to schoolkids via SRE?”

Education chief Mark Scott later said teachers also supervised the lessons and had been not identified as a terrorist group by the police.

“Where New South Wales police are aware of any concerns regarding any group or organisation known to be in our schools, they advise us immediately,” he said.

Education Department deputy secretary Murat Dizdar said principals were offered head office advice around special religious education.