UNITE Health and Safety Stay safe Are you at risk from RAAC?
The quick-build low-cost concrete RAAC – or Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC), widely used in public buildings constructed between1960s-1990s was big news in the early autumn.
RAAC has a projected life of 30 years, so even newer builds are reaching their ‘end date’.
Although the affected buildings have included schools (one collapsed in 2018), members working in constructions of this type are concerned about safety,
There is no report so far that agricultural buildings have been assessed for RAAC. Rob Miguel, Unite national health and safety officer, reported to the NISC (national industrial
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sector committee) in October, saying, “[On RAAC] In fact, it’s not a new issue, with government being aware of and monitoring public sector buildings containing RAAC, knowing it has a life span of roughly 30 years for decades. The health and safety Executive (HSE) have said “RAAC is now life-expired, it is liable to collapse with little or no notice.” The Department of Education is reporting many school buildings are at critical risk of sudden collapse.”
What Is RAAC?
Rob explained. “RAAC (a cheaper and weaker lightweight concrete material used in place of traditional concrete) was used extensively between the 1950s and 1990s in a range of public buildings including courts, hospitals, and police stations. RAAC is a lightweight precast concrete material that is made from sand, cement, lime, and aluminium powder. The manufacturing process results in the formation of air bubbles.
“RAAC has been a widely used building material because it is cheap, however, there are several structural deficiencies of RAAC, such as cracking, excessive displacements and lack of durability. This can potentially lead to building failure and collapse without warning.”
Where is it found? On this question he replied, “It can be found in numerous places such as exterior and interior walls, partition and roof panels, floor systems, and facade cladding, and also used for fire and soundproofing purposes and found in prefabricated construction components.
32 uniteLANDWORKER Winter 2023/24
“The full impact of remedial works to remove material, stabilise buildings or rebuild existing structures across the country is currently unknown but likely to be very significant. Importantly the issues extend far more widely than just education settings, with many public and private sector buildings affected.”
Urgent action needed Unite believes that sufficient time and resources should be made available to properly determine whether RAAC is present in buildings, its current age and condition, and any associated risks arising from the presence of RAAC such as asbestos. Unions are calling for urgent capital investment to repair and rebuild the public buildings.
Rob added, “There should also be a coordinated effort to establish a joint union strategy under the TUC. One of the wants is for government to establish a national risk register for all public buildings, as this crisis will extend beyond schools and involve hospitals, libraries, community centres and other public buildings.”
The TUC are providing a letter writing facility for union members too.
Rob told Landworker, “In terms of work we have done so far on RAAC, we have a campaign encouraging workers to write a letter to their MPs which spells out our two main asks. Firstly, more transparency and a national risk register to establish a database specifying any buildings with RAAC and asbestos to ensure informed decisions on making those buildings safe.
n By Helen Armstrong
Latest on workers’ safety news Crumbling concrete
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