Education Sector
MPs say school asbestos a 'national
scandal'
Health & Safety update 02/02/2012
MPs have said that the presence of asbestos in a majority of the
UK’s state schools is a “national scandal”.
The issue of the presence of the dangerous fibre in educational
premises has been examined in a report compiled by the All-Party
Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health. The group
found that children, teachers and other staff at more than 75 per
cent of the UK’s schools are being exposed to the dangerous,
carcinogenic material.
The chairman of the group, Jim Sheridan MP, said that the
Government needs to embark on a clearance programme to rid the
schools of the material before it starts affecting public
health.
“This is a national scandal,” he said. “Urgent action is needed
to prevent more pupils, teachers and other staff being exposed to
this deadly killer dust. We need both far greater awareness of the
risks that this material poses and a programme for its phased
removal.”
The report also highlighted tat more than 140 teachers have died
in the last ten years from mesothelioma, a rare asbestos-related
cancer. Figures from the US have suggested that around 100 people
will die in the UK every year as a direct result of asbestos
exposure in school.
The material is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths
in the UK, due to it being used extensively as a building material
from the 1950s to the 1980s. Around 4,000 people die every year
from asbestos-related illnesses.
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