London, Thanasis Gavos

The detection of a type of cement that is considered unstable has also caused concern for part of the building complex that houses the British Parliament.

Just before the start of the school year last week, it was announced that around 150 school buildings would remain closed due to the risk of collapse.

These are buildings in which the so-called Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Cement (RAAC) has been used, which is found to have a life cycle of about three decades, creating static risks after this period.

This was followed by announcements of RAACs in 14 hospitals, police stations and airports.

A parliamentary spokesman said late Monday that “as part of ongoing routine inspections, the existence of RAAC was identified in an area of ​​the Palace of Westminster (which houses the parliament).”

The representative added that engineers have confirmed that there is no immediate static risk and that the necessary building support works will be carried out at the points of concern.

It is believed that the problem concerns newer building additions, from 1974.

RAAC, a lighter and cheaper type of cement, was widely used in Britain in the early post-war decades.