British Group Calls for Urgent Asbestos Audit of Schools
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
The head of the British Safety Council said that 16 teachers die each year of asbestos-related illnesses and urged the government to conduct a nationwide effort to find and remove asbestos from schools. “It is unacceptable that the UK, in 2009, has not yet undertaken a national audit of asbestos in schools; has not comprehensively assessed the risks that teachers and pupils in each and every school face,” said Brian Nimick, chief executive of the British Safety Council, an independent non-profit that promotes health and safety issues.
Breathing microscopic fibers of asbestos which was used for decades in insulation, roof tiles and other building materials can lead to respiratory problems and forms of cancer including mesothelioma.
Nimick said that there had been 228 asbestos-related deaths among teachers in the United Kingdom over the last 14 years—an average of 16 a year. In 2009, he said more than 4,000 people would die of cancers related to asbestos exposure, making it the leading cause of workplace deaths in the United Kingdom
Nimick said the government has not allocated sufficient money to make asbestos removal a priority or even to assess the risks to teachers and pupils in every school.
“Without these actions, the tragedy of asbestos in schools will be left to fester and continue to kill the lifeblood of our society,” he said. “Teachers and pupils will continue to live with the deadly legacy of having once worked or studied in a school containing asbestos.”
Read British Safety Council Release
