The
Abbey Theatre & Arts Centre
Two-times Godiva Award winners
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Closure of the Abbey Theatre due to asbestos First published April 27th 2003 What happened? On March 5th 2003, the theatre was inspected by a specialist firm of consultants as part of a borough wide survey on behalf of the NBBC, our landlords, with the specific brief to identify any areas that may have asbestos material within or as part of the general construction of the building. As a result of this survey, not only did the inspector identify several locations where asbestos insulation board (AIB) had been used but also the fact that during the rewire project, the main phase of which had been completed the previous week, one of those AIB sections had been disturbed. The boards forming the wall of the control room had been cut to extend an existing window used by the theatre lighting technicians, but at the time work was carried out, the working party were unaware that the material being disturbed was in fact asbestos. The team were under the mistaken impression that the boards were made from Asbestolux, an asbestos substitute, and therefore non-hazardous. This has now been proven to be incorrect, although it appears that the supposition that Asbestolux is a safe material is not uncommon. As the results became clear, the NBBC surveyor's office was called in, and the decision to close the doors was taken. Where was the asbestos found? The control room area is where the most of the AIB is located, as it forms the wall between the auditorium and the technical area, the ceiling and the dividing wall to the access stairs The ceiling and one wall of the electrical plant room (rack room) The ceiling of the outer 'tunnel' area (emergency exit route) The ceiling and one wall of the paint stores The six panels in the main foyer bar enclosing the electrical mains switch-gear are backed with AIB The boards behind both the old and new electricity incoming main breakers (under the control room and main stairs) What sort of asbestos was it? Two types of asbestos were identified: White asbestos, or Chrysotile Whilst they both are potentially hazardous,
they are nowhere near as bad as the blue asbestos, or Crocilodite. What are the dangers? Despite the fact that the boards in the control room were cut and some holes were drilled in them, the risks to the health of even the volunteer team who carried out the work are very slight. Asbestosis is a lung disease that can result from prolonged and regular exposure to the asbestos fibres, but as none of the team were exposed for any length of time, the likelihood of any of them contracting the disorder are extremely remote. The possibility of anyone not directly involved in the maintenance work being at risk in any way is therefore very VERY small.. What happens next? The NBBC is funding the removal of virtually all of the offending material, and the small amount that will remain is NOT in the public areas of the venue - that which remains will be hermetically sealed with a special paint which will prevent damage in the future. The contaminated areas will be professionally cleaned by the contractors as will any equipment in those areas. However, much of the theatre technical gear cannot be satisfactorily decontaminated, and so much of the control room will have to be stripped. The work to remove and clean will commence on Monday 28th April, and last approximately two weeks. When all areas have been decontaminated, then the NBBC will engage another contractor to replace the walls and ceilings that have been removed with a suitable alternative. Once this work is complete, the NAC technical staff will need to re-connect the control room electrics, as well as all of the audio feeds for the sound room. There are still unfinished tasks from the rewire project, which will also need attention. IF the funding is forthcoming for the replacement technical equipment, then this will all have to be re-installed and brought into service. What is it going to cost? Well, we are only at the stage where estimates are being drawn at the present, but roughly speaking the following costs are expected:
Removal/decontamination/disposal of asbestos: £30,000 At present, it is unclear where the last two items are to be funded from - both the buildings policy (owned by the NBBC) and the contents policy (owned by the Arts Council) have exclusion clauses for contamination, and as such neither will cover the losses - discussions with the NBBC are in progress - the issue will be brought to a Cabinet Meeting on May 7th. The only thing that we can say with any surety is that if the Borough Council cannot or will not support these losses, then it is extremely unlikely that the Abbey Theatre will re-open, certainly in the short term. It will be impossible to trade as a viable performance venue without the fully equipped control room or a complete set of auditorium seating. |
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