It has been found that at many schools across the country, concrete block walls of questionable safety have been left as they are. There is a danger of such walls collapsing in an earthquake. These walls should be removed quickly.
During a recent earthquake that rocked the northern parts of Osaka Prefecture, a concrete block wall collapsed at a municipal elementary school in Takatsuki in the prefecture, killing a fourth-grade girl who became trapped underneath. Following this, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry conducted an emergency inquiry into the present state of safety inspections of concrete block walls at private schools and public schools run by the central government and local governments.
An enforcement ordinance of the Building Standards Law makes it obligatory to ensure the height of concrete block walls does not exceed 2.2 meters and to take measures such as shoring them up with buttresses when their height tops 1.2 meters.
Through visual inspection, concrete block walls deemed questionable in terms of safety were found at more than 12,600 schools. They account for more than 60 percent of schools, including kindergartens and elementary, junior high and high schools, where there are concrete block walls. Besides those walls that have failed to meet the standards in terms of height or strength, there were also walls that were confirmed to have deteriorated or to have been damaged.
As an issue related to the safety of children, this is an extremely worrisome situation.
At about 2,500 schools, or 20 percent of those with hazardous walls, even makeshift measures had not been taken. In cases where it is difficult to remove the walls anytime soon -- because of such issues as crime prevention -- it is important to keep children away from them by, for instance, setting up an enclosure around them or putting up a warning.
Issue has been overlooked
It is desirable for dangerous walls to be replaced with lightweight metal fences and the like. While countermeasures have progressed in those areas of northern Osaka Prefecture hit by the quake, in other places, the degree of progress has been uneven at best.
Even if walls were found through visual inspection to have no problems, it is vital for them to be given an internal check so as to confirm the condition of reinforcing steel and other such materials.
In its budgetary request for the next fiscal year, the education ministry will include a policy of expanding projects to support local governments. The ministry should accelerate its measures for concrete block walls by boosting such supportive steps.
The education ministry has promoted earthquake countermeasures, mainly reinforcing school buildings' earthquake resistance. It had also called on schools to check measures taken to prevent suspended ceilings and lighting apparatus inside gymnasiums from falling and furniture from collapsing.
On the other hand, the ministry had not called schools' particular attention to the safety of concrete block walls. The latest nationwide inquiry was the first one ever taken by the ministry with regards to these walls.
Fatal accidents caused by the collapse of concrete block walls have also occurred during such disasters as the 1978 earthquake off Miyagi Prefecture.
It should be considered problematic that despite all this, safety measures with regards to these walls have been overlooked. The education ministry has also admitted that "our awareness was insufficient." It must be said that the awareness of local governments and schools, both of which are supposed to protect children, was also low.
In order to prevent an accident such as the latest one from recurring, it is necessary for measures to also be taken for concrete block walls at ordinary houses located along school-commuting roads. Local governments, for their part, are required to make efforts to win the understanding of local residents.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 14, 2018)
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