The presence of toxic asbestos fibers in schools in Great Britain is a national scandal, according to a Parliament special interest group that focuses on workplace safety and health issues.  Teachers in the U.S. and Great Britain are at higher risk of developing mesothelioma due to the occupational hazard of asbestos exposure. Inhaling asbestos is associated with  serious respiratory diseases including lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma and malignant peritoneal mesothelioma. Asbestos was used in the construction of many older school buildings.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, an interest group, warned that 75 percent of schools  in Great Britain are exposing children, teachers and other staff to asbestos. Ministers of Parliament are calling upon the government to introduce a program to remove all asbestos from schools.

According to a Feb. 1 article in The Telegraph newspaper, more than 140 teachers have died from mesothelioma within the past 10 years. Asbestos fibers, when inhaled or ingested, can penetrate deep into the lung or abdominal cavity, lodging there and causing inflammation, scarring and eventually cancer.

The report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group of Occupational Safety and Health recommended annual updates for parents, teachers and staff about the presence of asbestos in schools.

Jim Sheridan, a Minister of Parliament and chairman of the group, said that urgent action is needed to prevent more students, teachers and school staff from being exposed to toxic asbestos dust. A mineral fiber, asbestos was widely used in building materials and insulation from the 1950s to mid-1980s in the United Kingdom.

Sheridan said that the British Department of Education’s best estimate was that about 75 percent of schools contained asbestos. Sheridan said Great Britain needed far greater awareness of the risk of asbestos.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, a British government agency that protects workers, asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the United Kingdom with approximately 4,000 people dying annually. In the U.S., approximately 3,000 people are diagnosed each year with mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure.

According to worker health data published by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, a U.S. government agency, the occupations with the highest proportionate malignant mesothelioma mortality rates are plumbers, pipefitters, electricians and elementary school teachers. Most teachers and other workers who develop mesothelioma show symptoms of the disease 20 years to 40 years after exposure.

For more information about mesothelioma, click here.