The asbestos threat in our schools - is enough being done?

The asbestos threat in our schools - is enough being done?

It is too late for Dianne Willmore. She has less than six months to live since developing the terminal cancer mesothelioma after being exposed for years to asbestos as a pupil at school. She was recently awarded £240,000 in compensation at the High Court in Liverpool. In a separate case, the widow of a teacher whose death was caused by exposure to asbestos during a long teaching career won a £290,000 settlement.

Mesothelioma is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. Linked to asbestos exposure, it is difficult to treat and can take more than 20 years to develop. Despite its rapidly increasing incidence, it is the least researched of the UK’s top 20 cancers, with little funding from government.

Cancer Research UK says the number of deaths from mesothelioma has been rising since 1968 and it kills almost 2,000 people a year. In the last 14 years, 228 teachers have died as a result of exposure to asbestos. Thousands of schools were built between the 1930s and 1980s when asbestos was routinely used in ceilings, wall linings and pipe lagging.

Teachers across the country told a recent NASUWT conference about exposure to the deadly fibres. A teacher in Wales alleged that she had found pupils kicking around "chunks of asbestos" in a school playground. They voted to campaign for the removal of asbestos from all schools by 2012. The National Union of Teachers has also called for its removal.

According to UK government estimates, materials containing asbestos can be found in around 70% of schools in England. In Wales it is estimated that more than 377,000 school children are exposed to asbestos in their classrooms.

The Health and Safety Executive says it is safer to leave undisturbed or undamaged asbestos in place and carefully manage it, rather than risk damaging it by removal. By law, robust processes must be in place in schools to carefully monitor asbestos.

There have been calls on the government to carry out a national audit of asbestos in schools, claiming that some schools and colleges are not taking health and safety issues like this seriously, while many local authorities are failing to comply with their statutory responsibilities.

Cenric Clement-Evans, a partner at Hugh James with specialist knowledge of industrial disease, commented: “The health and welfare of our children, our teachers and all who work in our schools is absolutely paramount. It is astonishing that an audit of asbestos in UK schools has not yet been carried out. The risks from asbestos in our schools must be assessed and the necessary action taken to protect our children and those working in our schools.”

The greatest tragedy is that Dianne’s illness was wholly preventable. Let it not be too late for our children.