Union fears over levels of asbestos in schools

Feb 18 2008

Putting a drawing pin into a classroom wall could leave children at risk of lethal exposure to asbestos, a teachers’ union warned today.

Asbestos was used extensively in schools built between the Second World War and the early 1980s and an estimated 13,000 schools in the UK could contain the material.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers claimed that slamming a classroom door or putting a pin in a wall in some of these schools could be fatal.

The union is calling for ministers to launch a national survey of all schools and colleges to discover the extent of asbestos use in buildings.

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted, said: “We are deeply concerned about the continuing risk to teachers, support staff and pupils from asbestos in our schools.

“We don’t know how many schools still contain asbestos, so most teachers have little idea of whether they or their pupils are being exposed to it.

“Over 400 ATL members know they have been exposed to asbestos in their school or college. But this is the tip of the iceberg.

“Many teachers and pupils will be unaware, and because asbestos related illnesses take between 15 to 60 years to develop it is difficult to know how many will become ill or die as a result of exposure.

“The health of thousands of young people and those working in education is far too precious to allow this to be swept under the carpet any longer.”

Delegates at ATL’s annual conference next month will call for all asbestos to be removed from schools by 2010.

Exposure to asbestos can cause fatal forms of cancer.

Between 1980 and 2000, 182 people working in education in Britain died from mesothelioma alone, the union said.

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said the union’s warning about drawing pins was “irresponsible, scaremongering”.

“The health and welfare of pupils and staff is absolutely paramount,” he said.

“It is unacceptable for local authorities and other duty holders not to comply with the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance and law.

“HSE advice is absolutely clear that if asbestos is not disturbed or damaged then it is usually safer to leave it in place and manage it.

“This means that robust processes must be in place to control asbestos in schools, and that the risk to staff and pupils is absolutely negligible.”

Asbestos is a building material made up of tiny fibres that was widely used as insulation before it was banned completely in 1999.