Two buildings at Gjøvik upper secondary school have been closed due to suspected asbestos. The school reports this on its pages. Taking no chances In connection with a building project at the school, dust was discovered in a building. – It is very unlikely that it is asbestos, but we are taking the precautions we have to take, says principal Bjørn Matsson. They are working to remove asbestos from a roof outdoors. Since they cannot rule out that there is asbestos in the dust that has come in, they close down two buildings. – That is why we are taking all precautions and shutting down the building until we get an answer to the samples that have been taken of the dust. Oppland Arbeiderblad mentioned the closure first. Work is currently taking place to remove asbestos from the roof of the school. Photo: Innlandet county municipality 200 pupils have to be moved 200 pupils are affected, and the school management is working to find new premises for them. In total, there are over 1,000 pupils and 220 employees at the school. There are parts of the building and construction engineering, health and early childhood subjects, and hairdressing, flowers, interior and exposure design lines that are usually located in the buildings that have been closed down. The real estate department in the county council has taken samples of the dust, but it will take a couple of days before they get an answer as to whether it is asbestos or not. In addition, they have to clean up after the construction dust, and if there is asbestos, the cleaning requires special skills. Both buildings will be closed until the school possibly gets the go-ahead to open the buildings. They hope to resume normal classes over the weekend. May be carcinogenic On the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority’s website, it is stated that asbestos can lead to serious diseases, including lung cancer, pleural cancer and asbestosis. Asbestos dust is harmful to health when inhaled. Asbestos materials were used in buildings from around 1920 to 1985. The risk of being exposed to asbestos is therefore greatest in connection with work on older buildings. In 1985, all use and handling of asbestos was banned in Norway. Published 28.08.2024, at 13.27 Updated 28/08/2024, at 14.14
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