STAFF at
The Daily Post can today reveal the substance was found in service ducts beneath the hospital during a routine safety check.
The ducts have now been sealed off. Health chiefs said tests confirmed wards and offices had not been affected.
They added the risk to people who have worked in the ducts – those employed in the hospital’s estates team – was low.
The 13 staff in question have been briefed on the situation, a spokeswoman for the hospital said.
A statement from Judith Adams, chief operating officer at Alder Hey, read: “The safety of everyone at Alder Hey is paramount whether a patient, visitor, an employee or contractor.
“We have been advised that the health risks to our staff from any potential exposure are minimal but we have put in place arrangements to further protect the health and safety of everyone at Alder Hey.”
Asbestos was routinely used as a way to insulate and fireproof buildings from the 1950s through to the mid-1980s.
In good condition it is safe but if its fibres become airborne, it can be dangerous.
Chiefs knew it lay in the ducts, but in the 1980s it was made safe through an “encapsulation” process to prevent these fibres escaping.
But the recent tests showed “residual amounts” in the air, meaning workers could have breathed it in.
When the fibres are inhaled they can cause serious problems, including the fatal disease mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.
The statement continued: “According to our records the asbestos in these ducts had been removed over 30 years ago. We immediately commissioned experts to perform air testing to establish the risk.
“From the conclusion of an independent specialist occupational hygienists’ report, we can confirm that exposure to asbestos dust or fibres for anyone working in those ducts was classified as ‘very low’.
“I would like to reiterate that no further asbestos fibres of this kind have been found on any of our wards or in clinical areas and we can confirm there is no current risk to our patients and families.”
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have been notified.
Asbestos fibres are normally present in the environment, but a key risk factor is how many are breathed in.
Bosses at Alder Hey said its workers have not spent a huge amount of time in the ducts, one of the reasons why the risk is low.
The statement added: “Our hospital was built back in 1914. This means that the infrastructure is below modern standards.
“There remains an overwhelming need to rebuild and we are looking forward to opening a brand new hospital with 21st Century facilities in 2015.”
The asbestos will need a specialist team to remove it when the new hospital is built.