Asbestos in Schools |
The aim of this site is to inform parents, teachers and support staff about asbestos in schools. It gives guidance on how to improve the management of asbestos in schools. It aims to encourage openness in the UK Government's policy towards asbestos in schools. |
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Check asbestos management standards in your schoolThe joint teaching union and asbestos consultants association, ATaC, are assessing the standard of asbestos management in 100 schools and are also trialing a system of air sampling that will detect the hidden, deteriorating and dangerous asbestos in schools. The teaching unions have asked their members and school authorities to volunteer their schools for the project.. The assessment is free and the school’s identity will remain anonymous. The Government will be asked to extend the assessments to all schools. Experienced asbestos consultants assess the standards of management and give guidance on any improvements that might be necessary. If you wish to volunteer your school then details are here. An example of a typical Teaching Unions' circular to its members about the project is that of the teaching union Voice |
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Clinica (World Specialists in Medical Technology) exclusively reports 11 year old research into children' exposure at school was omitted from official guidance. It says the data is "shocking" ------------------------------------------------------- Parliamentary Question: Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what training is provided to teachers on asbestos management and safety; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such provision. Comment: The Minister's reply (24 Feb) appears to be contrary to the regulations and appears to be breaking the law. The relevant regulations state that: “Every employer shall ensure that adequate information, instruction and training is given to those of his employees who are or who are liable to be exposed to asbestos….”. It is known that teachers and support staff have disturbed asbestos and have been exposed, and it is known that unless they are trained they are liable to be exposed in the future. By law the employer is therefore required to give adequate information, instruction and training to the teachers and support staff so that such exposures to both them and the children can be prevented. It is criminal not to do so. See the question, the Minister's flawed reply and analysis of the Minister's reply at this link. ----------------------------------------------- Parliamentary Question: Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the follow-up work to the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Asbestos Management in Schools survey; how many visits by the HSE to local education authorities have been made following the survey; and when she estimates the HSE follow-up work will be completed. [318515]. To see the Minister's holding reply and the dangerous implications of the Minister's position see this link Ministerial action following the damning ATaC report on asbestos in schools (see red box below) The Schools Minister Diana Johnson MP met the asbestos in schools group and ATac representative yesterday (24 Feb) and agreed to the setting up of a steering group to look at all aspects of risk, management and training for asbestos in schools. The first meeting of the steering group will take place next month. See a short Press release
Inspectors say schools fail to protect pupils and staff from asbestos Asbestos tests on dozens of schools have revealed "unacceptable" safety standards that could be putting thousands of of children and teachers at risk... Analysts who conducted the nationwide survey found that too few head teachers manage asbestos properly; many rely on containment plans more than a decade old and some have never drawn up plans at all. The audit, by the Asbestos Testing and Consultancy Association, also found that some schools had asbestos particles in the air ......... A preliminary report said that most schools are failing to comply with their legal "duty to manage" the asbestos, that the responsibility for ensuring safety was dogged by confusion, and that staff training was "either poor or non-existent". ------------ Asbestos to be left in place in primary school refurbishment under Primary Capital Programme. A parliamentary question and comment on the response is at the link Major Concerns about Asbestos Management at Non Local Authority Schools. HSE and Local Authorities have made asbestos management in non-Local Education Authority schools a priority for action in 2010. In 2004 this sector was recognised by HSE as being particularly weak on asbestos awareness and management, consequently a priority of the defunct 2004 HSE schools campaign was to target them. As the campaign was dropped no action has been taken, but the poor response from the recent DCSF/HSE questionnaire has once again shown that although there are many flaws in asbestos management in local authority schools, the situation is considerably worse outside. See the link for a press release from the Chair of the Campaign against Asbestos in Schools For detail see http://www.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/NewsarticleDetails.aspx?id=22456 then follow the link Delivery Portfolio 2010-11 The notice is at paragraph 4. A press release from the asbestos in schools group is here ------------------------------------------. New Analysis Parliamentary Question 15 Dec Baroness Quin : To ask Her Majesty's Government how many teachers have contracted asbestos-related diseases. [HL648]. The reply from the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Children in the Lords is very flawed and misleading. Each factual error, example of statistical spin, each attempt to conceal teachers' deaths and the proven risk to teachers and each attempt to avoid analysing children's deaths and that of support staff is identified and corrected at the link. Each point is referenced to authoritative sources. Mr David Kitchin, a master at Farleigh School, Andover died of mesothelioma on 21 January 2009. According to a High Court writ he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibres in the Stone Passageway, the route into the main school .....Overhead central heating and hot water pipes lagged with blue asbestos ran in the passageway, and the lagging was friable, making the atmosphere contaminated with asbestos, the writ says. It is claimed that pupils also disturbed the lagging by jumping up to swing on the pipes. Parliamentary question 8 Dec. This concerns the DCSF questionnaire that attempted to assess the management of asbestos in schools and the compliance with HSE guidance on asbestos in System built schools. In his answer the Schools Minister, Vernon Coaker MP has refused to publish any of the responses from the questionnaire. The Minister’s reason for his refusal is that “this information may be required for legal purposes.” The same reply was given by HSE to the asbestos in schools group at their meeting with the Parliamentary Under–Secretary Dianne Johnson MP when they asked which local authorities were being investigated and which had failed to reply. Comment It is unacceptable that the Minister refuses to publish the names of the councils that have failed to reply or are being investigated, for as well as being a legal matter this is a matter that affects the safety of the occupants of schools. Therefore the names of the failing councils who are potentially putting teachers, support staff and children at risk should be made public without further delay. For further information see : --------------------------------------------------- Scotland - December 2009. An investigative report by Highland News into the situation of asbestos management in Scottish schools has prompted an HSE Improvement Notice on Highland Council. At the same link a Public Petition on behalf of schools in Scotland asking for action with a discussion by the Scottish Parliamentary Committee of the petition and their proposed action. 30 Nov - A 5 minute video on BBC News about the unsatisfactory results of the DCSF questionnaire about asbestos in System Built schools. 24 and 26 Nov - Three Parliamentary Questions by Paul Rowen MP and answers from Sec of State for Children Schools and Families about dealing with asbestos in the Building Schools for the Future programme 11 Nov: Meeting with the new Schools Minister Diana Johnson MP The Asbestos in Schools Group discussed the HSE/DCSF flawed questionnaire inaccurately claimed as a comprehensive audit of standards of asbestos management in schools. The HSE brief on the returns from the questionnaire (now 7 months late) and the lack of responses made it clear that there are some serious flaws in the manner that schools are managing their asbestos (paper at this link). The Minister and the HSE appeared, for the first time, to be prepared to listen to the Prime Minister (who has already acknowledged there is a problem) and also listen to the united Teachers Unions, the support unions the specialist scientists, the asbestos consultants' association and specialist solicitors - all of whom have been saying there is a problem of asbestos management in schools and have been suggesting practical ways of identifying the scale of the problem and resolving it. 27 Oct: Parliamentary Question: Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools have been found to contain hazardous asbestos in the last 12 months; in how many of those schools all asbestos has been removed; at what cost; and what assessment has been made of the health of (a) teachers and (b) pupils attending schools where asbestos has been found. [291622]. Reply includes the statement "It has highlighted the need for further investigation and follow up" into "how asbestos is being managed in System Built schools" --------------------------------------------- I have to report the tragic news that Dianne Wilmore died on 15 October. It was the day after she won her fight for justice in the Appeal Court over exposure to asbestos as a child at school. Our deepest sympathies go to her family Please click this link to see more from her solicitors and from us. A BBC Today Programme interview describes what the Government is being asked to do to identify asbestos in schools and do risk assesments following Dianne Willmore's death and the Appeal Court ruling in her favour. _________ Royal Court of Justice Appeal Verdict - 14 Oct 2009 This is a very important appeal ruling which will have profound consequences for every member of staff and pupil who has been exposed to asbestos in a school. Further details of the case are at this link. Summary: In July 2009 Liverpool High Court found Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council liable for damages for negligently exposing Dianne Wilmore to asbestos fibres while she was a pupil at her secondary school in Huyton. The Appeal Court upheld the verdict. Malta and Tasmania have taken the decision to remove asbestos from schools working with the Commonwealth through the stimulus package and the Building in Education Revolution spending. Comment and detailed statements under "Malta and Tasmania 6 Oct" at this link 17 September TUC Conference Dr Mary Bousted, the General Secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers called for a risk assessment and a comprehensive audit of asbestos in educational establishmentsand the standards of management. She also called for the restarting of the Asbestos in Schools campaign, training for those managing asbestos in schools, and all asbestos to be identified and removed by 2015, with the most dangerous asbestos removed first. The resolution was passed unanimously.. .A seperate article on this issue by Dr Mary Bousted is at this link. Also see Conference Motion 78 21 September Scottish Parliament. Parents are as concerned in Scotland as they are in the remainder of the UK about their children attending schools where the local authorities do not have robust systems of asbestos management. A petition has therefore been put before the Scottish Parliament where MSPs raised the issue of the standards of management, the unwarranted secrecy surrounding asbestos in schools and the need to determine the extent of the problem so that a proper response can be made. The details of the committee meetings, the petition and the action being taken are at the Scottish Parliament link 31 July Latest update, includes
----------------------------------- 21 July Parliamentary questions confirm that the Government has no risk assesment model for assessing the health risks to children of exposure to asbestos fibres. The answers show that the Schools Minister, the DCSF and HSE current guidance that children's exposure to 48 fibres/millilitre of air is "usually insufficent to pose a significant long risk to health" has no sound scientific basis. It also shows that the Schools Minister recommendation that parents are not informed of their children's exposure unless the "Action Level" has been exceeded is a recommendation based on an outdated standard and is not based on a sound scientific analysis of the risk to the children exposed. The answers also show that asbestos will generally be left in primary schools during refurbishment For the Parliamentary Questions, the answers and referenced analysis of the above points click this link. ---------------------------------------------- Prime Minister acknowledges that there is a problem in schools that has to be addressed. A delegation representing six Teacher Unions presented a paper to the Prime Minister voicing their concerns about the problem of asbestos in schools. The delegates were the General Secretaries of ATL and the NASUWT and the Assistant Secretary of the NUT. In full support and agreement on the statement were the teaching unions Voice, ASCL and NAHTA. Specialist scientists, solicitors, Health and Safety specialist organisations and asbestos support groups are also in full support and agreed the statement. The delegation was led by Paul Rowen MP (Lib Dem Shadow spokesman W&P). Michael Lees was also a delegate. The Union GMB announced it would join the campaign shortly afterwards. The full list is here The Prime Minister acknowledged that there is a problem and that it would be addressed, and instructed that a further meeting should take place in the near future with the Schools Minister to decide the way forward. The four key points in the paper are:
The complete text presented to the Prime Minister is at this link. ------------------------------------------ Parliamentary Seminar contrasts asbestos management in Parliament and that in schools Daily Mirror report on the meeting Update 7 May 2009. The update contains a report of a formal complaint about HSE scientific tests (including complaints of non-declared commercial interests, secrecy and lack of peer review). It also includes an analysis of misleading standard statements produced by authorities about asbestos in schools, it reports on the very supportive Teachers Unions AGMs, including a presentation by a teacher dying of mesothelima. It also contains an excellent BBC Radio investigation of school asbestos management at every level. ----------------------------------------------------------- The Prime Minister agrees to meeting on 13 May. Liberal Democrat MP Paul Rowen asked the Prime Minister on Prime Minister's Questions to meet a delegation to discuss how concerns over asbestos in schools could be allayed. Responding, Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed that asbestos was a crucial issue, and agreed to meet the delegation. -------------------------------------- Yesterday (6 May) the Prime Minister also met asbestos campaigners at a private meeting in the House of Commons. On the agenda were a series of issues including: the fatal legacy left by asbestos manufacturing in Britain, the consequences of low level exposures to asbestos, the asbestos contamination of schools and the urgent need for a coordinated national research strategy for medical treatment and cures for asbestos-related diseases. Having acknowledged the threat posed by low level exposures to asbestos, the Prime Minister confirmed that further discussion on asbestos in schools will take place at a Westminster meeting on 13 May. Full report --------------------------------------- Conference on "Mesothelioma the wider perspective" 12 May 2009 with scientific, medical and legal leaders in the field. There will be a lecture on asbestos in schools. Agenda, speakers, precis of discussions and booking a place at this link. Medway Maritime Conference 2009 -------------------------------- Parliamentary asbestos seminar “Asbestos Update” 13 May. Michael Clapham MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Health and Safety, will chair it. The agenda is at this link. The General Secretary of the Association of Training and Lecturers and Carol Hagedorn, a teacher suffering from mesothelioma will be talking about asbestos in schools. The meeting is for MPs and invited guests. --------------------------------- NASUWT Conference Calls for removal of asbestos. A terminally ill teacher says ".I am understandably unhappy that the lack of proper asbestos control will end my life prematurely, like some sort of collateral damage or natural wastage in the education game". ---------------------------------- BBC Investigation A detailed, factual investigation by Radio Scotland, applicable to the rest of UK. The BBC web site has now lapsed (some 20 days) but it is now on this link. Quotes: “What we are risking with this are young children's lives. The authorities have to be whiter than white, they have to prove to us there is no asbestos not just assume…. ”Asbestos expert ---------------------------------------- NW TUC Conference. Asbestos in Schools. Motion carried unanimously, Hear the speech ----------------------------- A Teacher's Story " I now have this terrible disease which need not have happened if I had been looked after in my professional environment". -------------------------------------- Parliamentary Debate The debate on asbestos in schools covered the issues well - the MP leading the debate was a Deputy Head Teacher so spoke from experience. Unfortunately an analysis of the Minister's reply was less than convincing and demonstrates that children will still be at risk. Analysis and Hansard script of the debate is at this link. --------------------------------- BBC 1 "Inside Out" ran a report on asbestos in schools on 25 March. It can be seen on the BBC Inside Out site. An earlier report can be seen on this site. ------------------------------------------ Welsh Assembly Asbestos Conference 24 March. The conference highlighted the problem of asbestos in schools. A leading occupational hygienist, Robin Howie, gave a graphic illustration of how deaths from asbestos exposure amongst school teachers is significantly higher than one should expect in an occupation where there should be minimal or no exposure to asbestos. He stated that between 1980-2000 male teachers have an incidence of mesothelioma deaths (PMR) almost ten times greater than would have been expected if they had had no exposure to asbestos. During the same period female teachers had an incidence almost three times greater. He stressed that the teachers’ deaths are but the tip of the ice-berg. Because for every teacher there are many more children, and they are more vulnerable. However because of the very long latency their mesothelioma deaths occur many years later and are recorded in whatever occupation they had at the time, and not as the result of their asbestos exposure at school. (Western Mail report) Dr John Osman, chief medical adviser of the HSE, said that 90,000 were expected to die in the asbestos-related disease “epidemic” by 2050. A senior HSE official Steve Coldrick, director of the HSE’s disease reduction programme, said: “This is an absolute horror story, there’s no getting away from it.” ------------------------------ Parliament An Early Day Motion has been put forward by Michael Clapham MP. It is for five specific changes in Govenment Policy on asbestos that the Daily Mirror is campaigning for. There is a No10 petition for the same proposals that you can sign if you wish to make a difference. ------------------------------------ Sadly another teacher has died of mesothelioma ----------------------------- Update 2nd March 2009 Today the Daily Mirror launched a campaign to raise public awareness of the dangers and issues surrounding asbestos. The first article asks the Government to give financial support for a research centre into asbestos related disease. There is so much bad news associated with asbestos that this is a positive move forward and is a project that we strongly support. As part of the Mirror’s campaign there will be an article about the problems associated with asbestos in schools. If you have any comment or stories of bad asbestos management, of a lack of awareness or you know of any asbestos incidents in schools then please contact the Mirror at asbestos@mirror.co.uk or join their blog at: http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/asbestos-campaign/ ---------------------------- .Update 5 February 2009 Parliamentary Asbestos Sub-committee briefed by Teachers Unions, Asbestos Consultant's Association and a Teacher ill with mesothelioma on:
MPs attending say that something must be done and Committee agree to speak to Minister again. -------------------------------- .Update 2 February 2009. Includes: BBC investigation into school asbestos management (video)
Parliamentary Asbestos sub-committee consider repeated calls over many years for:
28th January 2009 - BBC Inside Out broadcast a report on asbestos in schools in the South East. The lessons learnt here apply to many schools in the country. There is detailed comment on the programme here and you can see the 13 minute video. ----------- 3rd February 2009 - a meeting of the Parliamentary asbestos sub-committee where the Liberal Democrats Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions, the Teaching unions, the medical profession and others will join the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Safety and Health in his call for the Government to undertake:
14th November 2008 - ITN’s Teachers TV broadcast a news report on asbestos in schools. The report focuses on the widespread calls for the reinstatement of a campaign to improve the asbestos management in schools, the need for a national audit of asbestos in schools and the need for an assessment to be made of the risk to staff and children. The calls are from the teaching unions, MPs, asbestos consultants, surveyors, doctors, occupational hygienists, solicitors, mesothelioma research organisations, mesothelioma support groups, teachers, parents and individuals. As licensing constraints prevent the showing of the videos for more than 28 days the following summaries cover many of the main points: A transcript of the report. --------- 14 Nov 2008 - Letter in the Times A letter from the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Health and Safety, the medical profession and asbestos specialists requests action on asbestos in schools. --------- 30 Oct 2008 - BBC Today report on asbestos in schools and other public buildings and an interview with the chest consultant John Edwards. --------- July 2008 - Asbestos Testing and Consultancy Association professional development seminar. It identified failings in school asbestos management survey, procedures, training and standards. It was attended by asbestos surveyors, consultants, analysts and contractors, Chairman of the UK Asbestos Training Association, the Manager of the UK Accreditation Service, specialist scientists, local authority safety officers, solicitors, Teachers Unions and HSE Head of Asbestos Policy. Michael Lees presented. His notes (updated Jan 09) are attached. -------- .Friday 15 February 2008 ITN News reported on the discovery of asbestos in a System Built School and raised the possibility of the same problem affecting many other schools. This paper has guidance on asbestos precautions in these schools based on best practice. It has been written in consultation with experienced asbestos consultants. |
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Michael Lees |
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