Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Asbestos Danger In Many Schools

By Katie Clayton

Despite stringent regulations being in place to protect the health and safety of school children, schools are failing to screen them against asbestos. The Asbestos Training and Consultancy Association made the claims after a survey of 16 schools suggested that asbestos was still a danger.

Mesothelioma and asbestosis are deadly conditions caused by the inhalation of dangerous asbestos fibres. This means that asbestos only becomes dangerous when it is disturbed or damaged and its cotton like fibres become dislodged. Experts have said that over half of the schools they visited contained damaged asbestos which poses a substantial health risk to all those exposed.

The government advise that asbestos in schools should be left alone and have introduced management schemes rather than removal plans. But worrying statistics have arisen that show the death toll from their decision could be substantial. Approximately 178 teachers and support staff have died over the last 25 years due to asbestos-related illnesses. And with children thought to be far more susceptible to these diseases it can only be predicted what will happen in the future if this asbestos is not safely removed.

Carole Hagerdon worked in secondary schools for around 13 years before she began to show symptoms of the deadly lung cancer mesothelioma. She is devastated by the diagnosis and wishes to warn parents and teachers of the dangers of asbestos so that the same thing can be prevented in the future. At just 58 she has a prognosis of 6 months left to live. The density of asbestos in schools can be determined from the disease rate among teachers, which is 10 times that of the average man among male teachers and around 2.5 times for women teachers.

The government will now have to revise its policy on asbestos management or risk a significant public backlash. Parents and teaching unions are pushing for the complete eradication of all asbestos materials from UK schools over the next few years. Perhaps this will finally put an end to the rise of asbestos-related conditions.

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