Asbestos in school playing field open dump not removed four months after discovery

Asbestos discovered in an open air dump at a Mid Wales School’s playing field nearly four months ago has still not been removed, Powys County Council has admitted.

The presence of Asbestos in a dump at Newtown High School’s playing field was revealed by local newspaper The County Times on June 9, but as yet tests have not even taken place to establish the risk posed by the material.

At the time of the discovery a spokesman for Powys County Council said that the area had been tested and found to contain ‘tiny’ traces of asbestos and it was fenced off as a precaution. The spokesman also confirmed that specialist contractors would be examining the site to decide on the appropriate action.

Local MP Lembit Opik backed the council’s approach at the time saying: “It seems the council is acting entirely properly to get this sorted out as quickly as possible.”

But Mr Opik, speaking from the Liberal Democrat Party conference in Brighton this week, was shocked to learn that as yet the tests have not taken place to establish the best course of action. He said: “It’s shocking that they haven’t done anything about it, they’ve had all summer to do these tests, I’m wondering what the problem is. I hope the council’s two-week commitment is just that, I imagine the risk is very low, but asbestos needs to be treated with care and respect because of its known health damaging properties.”

A spokesman for Powys County Council said: “No final decision has yet been taken, it is expected that specialist consultants will be going in to take samples in the next two weeks and dependent on the results the appropriate action will then be taken.”

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