Asbestos in schools: what is being done?
Over the past year, teachers across the UK have been awarded over £18 million in compensation for injuries at work and other disputes.
The vast majority of those injuries were down to work accidents and attacks by students.
One of the largest payouts, of £220,000, was settled out of court after a teacher was left with permanent injuries when a box of paper fell on her head from a stationary cupboard.
Another teacher received £160,000 for neck and shoulder injuries after trying to restrain an autistic child.
And almost £500,000 has been paid in compensation to two widows whose husbands died from the asbestos related disease mesothemlioma, after being exposed to the substance whilst teaching in a school.
And with the increasing public awareness of the dangers of asbestos, the number of accident claims filed by teachers is expected to soar in regards to exposure to the deadly substance.
Asbestos in 90 per cent of schools
Last month, the Daily Mirror found that nine out of 10 schools contain asbestos.
Over a dozen councils admitted that out of 3,286 of their schools, 2,917 had been built using asbestos.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "Asbestos is a huge risk in schools and teachers are often unaware it is there.”
However, it’s not just teachers who are expected to file a growing number of claims.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said: "For every teacher who may have been exposed to asbestos, up to 30 children have probably been similarly exposed.
Because asbestos-related illnesses take between 15 to 60 years to develop it is impossible 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 are far too precious to be swept under the carpet any longer."
Calls to remove asbestos in schools
With schools across England being re-built as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme, a husband of a teacher who died from mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in the school believes that the scheme is a “massive opportunity” to remove the deadly substance.
Michael Lees said: “The current policy on asbestos states that if it is well managed, and in good condition, then it is not a danger to pupils or teachers. This is simply not true.
Asbestos is always at risk of becoming damaged – particularly in a school where there are sometimes thousands of people moving around inside the same building.
I have been to schools which have been praised for the way they manage their asbestos, and yet have found that they simply do not know where it can be found, and how to ensure it is safe. Only by removing it all can we ensure that pupils and staff are not exposed.”
Hank Roberts, lead member for health and safety at the Association for Teachers and Lecturers said: “We need a national audit of asbestos in all UK schools so that we can use the data to ensure it is removed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I think the cost of doing the removal work will mean that this doesn’t happen without a huge campaign.
The deaths are continuing, and still the denial continues. We have to face facts that the removal of asbestos will cost a lot of money, but the long-term costs are far higher.”
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