ASBESTOS – THE KILLER IN SCHOOLS, ATL

15 February 2008         

Putting a drawing pin into a classroom wall or slamming a classroom door could be enough to sign a death warrant, says the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL). 

Thousands of teachers, support staff and pupils in the UK could be putting themselves at risk on a daily basis if their school contains asbestos. 

Asbestos was extensively used as a building material between 1945 and early 1980s in new and refurbished schools.  In particular pre-fabricated schools - so called system-built schools – of the CLASP, SCOLA and Hills type commonly used asbestos.  The HSE records over 1,400 CLASP schools in the UK, and it has been estimated there are 13,000 system built schools. 

At its annual conference in Torquay in March (17-20 March) ATL members will be asked to support a demand that the Government conducts a survey of all educational establishments to determine whether asbestos is present, and ensures all asbestos is removed in accordance with approved Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards by firms licensed under the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations, by 2010.

ATL general secretary, Dr Mary Bousted, said:  “We are deeply concerned about the continuing risk to teachers, support staff and pupils from asbestos in our schools.  There is still too little information about asbestos.  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.  Schools should keep and maintain asbestos registers to record the locations and condition of any asbestos, and let staff know.

“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 Building Schools for the Future programme should provide the ideal opportunity to tackle this problem and ensure asbestos is removed from all UK schools.  The health of thousands of young people and those working in education are far too precious to allow this to be swept under the carpet any longer.”

Hay Lane School, Kingsbury, North London has been investigated over the past two months by the Health and Safety Executive following reports that proper checks have not been carried out and asbestos could be released every time a door is slammed.  Brent Council has admitted the 1960s building contains asbestos, but denies it poses a health risk. 

Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma (always fatal), lung cancer (almost always fatal), and asbestosis (fatal or highly debilitating). 

IT teacher, John Murphy, from Manchester died in 2002 aged 57, 18 months after developing mesothelioma contracted from asbestos he was exposed to in Hartshead High School, Ashton under Lyme, where he worked for 22 years.  Temporary buildings with moveable walls had been erected at the school to accommodate a rapid increase in pupil numbers in the 1970s, and in the 1980s asbestos was removed from the school after it was found to be flaking from the ceiling.  Tameside Borough Council admitted liability, following a court case brought by ATL, and paid his family £115,000.

Gina Lees, who taught in primary and nursery schools in Norfolk and Devon, died in September 2000 of mesothelioma.  Her husband - Mike Lees - has become an expert on asbestos cases in education.  From official figures he estimates 145 people working in education in Great Britain have died as a result of exposure to asbestos between 1991 and 2000.  And he estimates 13,000 schools were built between 1945 and 1975 – a period when the use of asbestos was at its height.

HSE figures show 182 people working in education died in Great Britain between 1980 and 2000 from mesothelioma alone – 138 men and 44 women.  All death statistics are almost undoubtedly an under-estimate since occupations are not always known and can be different at the time of death and deaths from work-related illnesses are only recorded if the victim is under 74. 

Under HSE regulations [Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations (CAW) 2002] employers – in the case of schools this is the local authority, governors, private school owners or trustees - are legally required to check premises for asbestos, carry out a risk assessment, and manage any risk.  They also have to regularly monitor sites and give a warning of the location of any asbestos. 

Since March 2007 HSE inspectors have been making sure all UK school employers are complying with the regulations and been checking on the management of asbestos in all CLASP and other system buildings build between 1945 and 1980.

The use of asbestos or asbestos containing materials was banned in the UK in 1985, but asbestos was used in some cements until l999.

For further information please contact the ATL press office on 0207 782 1589 or visit our website www.atl.org.uk.