Since the dangerous material asbestos was banned from being used in building, there have been varying reports on the frequency of incidences of mesothelioma, the lung cancer that the material can cause in those who are exposed to it. One of the strongest debates involves the question of safely removing the material from public buildings such as hospitals and schools. Recently, there has been a call for action by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) for the removal of asbestos from all schools within the UK. A programme by the BBC, “Inside Out” screened in January 2009, made a Freedom of Information request to the government and discovered that in the South East of England, the presence of asbestos within school buildings was shockingly high, remaining in 90% of schools.
This revelation brings into debate the question of whether to remove, or not to remove the deadly substance from school buildings. According to the Health and safety Executive (HSE) the extraction process for removing asbestos sealed inside buildings would be dangerous in itself. However, the NUT has called for the removal of asbestos from all schools, with the Kent branch secretary stating that as long as local authorities do not remove the asbestos from schools there will be a risk of the fibres being inhaled into people’s lungs and causing illness.
After the Second World War, many schools were built using asbestos, and the majority of these have not yet been replaced. Worryingly, an independent asbestos consultant told the BBC that the incidence of teachers dying from asbestos related illnesses has been increasingly on the rise, to more than five every year. Could theses deaths have been prevented if there had been a more thorough asbestos management system in place within schools? Those schools which have exposed asbestos found in them are closed or cordoned off while the material is disposed of, but the HSE seeks to reassure that if asbestos is sealed in a building, unexposed then it represents no health risk. There is an argument that attempting to remove the asbestos may actually be more of a health risk.
If asbestos is found in a public place such as a school, then registered professional asbestos surveyors should be called in to carry out asbestos surveys. The removal of the material by someone untrained in the area can be done but isn’t advised in public buildings due to concerns with public health. If asbestos is found in either a home or workplace environment, it may be necessary to take a sample to identify the type; this can be done by most asbestos consultants. The most dangerous type of asbestos is blue crocidolite, which has been found in a small minority of school buildings in the South East of England.
The rise of cases of mesothelioma in teachers is being called just the tip of the iceberg of the problem. Many of the children who study at an affected school, or who did so in the past, will have been exposed to asbestos during their school lives too, meaning there are potentially thousands more cases of mesothelioma lying undiagnosed in the South east of England. The author is working for a company doing asbestos surveys. So if you need asbestos consultants or, asbestos management, have a look.
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