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Narrated by James Marriott
Spare a thought for whoever does the public relations for concrete. It has not been a good week for this ancient construction material, heralded as a wonder fabric of the built environment as far back as Roman times.
Not any more: reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) – the Aero-like substance inside some schools and public buildings – is gearing up to become the next cladding crisis after being identified as a serious safety risk. The British government is at pains to play down the extent of the problem, but as not every school has yet completed a survey to establish whether it contains Raac it is unclear how many buildings are involved. Conservative (both big and small “C”) estimates put the number at about 700.
© Times Media Limited 2023.