Check Asbestos Management Standards in your School

The 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.

The Situation

Most schools contain asbestos and some contain large quantities. You can now discover for yourself if your child may be exposed to asbestos at your school and how good the asbestos management is in practise.

Children are more susceptible to asbestos than adults but have less rights. As HSE has a “need to know” rather than a “right to know” policy on asbestos in schools it is normally difficult for parents to assess what the risk is to their child and this policy also prevents internal and external scrutiny of asbestos management policy and standards.

Asbestos that is in good condition and well managed will not release asbestos fibres. However if it is not in good condition or if it is disturbed, it can release fibres which can be breathed in, and that is when there is a risk. There is no known threshold below which there is no risk but it is generally thought that it takes either a short term large exposure, or cumulative low level exposures over a period of time to cause mesothelioma. Even then most people will not develop the disease, but, as it is not presently known who is susceptible and who is not, a precautionary approach should be taken.

Below is a list of common sense measures that we campaign for to make sure your child is safe. They are well researched and simple, many can be done in your school. Most could, and should, have been introduced 40 years ago when the risk was first known and before teachers died from teaching in schools with poor asbestos management systems. Nobody knows how many children have died in later life because of asbestos exposure at school as no central statistics are kept of asbestos in schools or of children's cumulative or incident exposure.

Please check your school then join our campaign for the common sense measures we list below.

Scroll down the page to see what our principles are and what Government Action we want

OUR PRINCIPLES

1. There should be a policy of Openness about asbestos in schools.
2. Parents and teachers should have a “right to know” what asbestos is present in their, and their children's, school.
3. All schools by law should be required to carry out a thorough asbestos survey. It should include air tests. (See Testing and Inspections below)
4. Children should have the same rights as adults when in an asbestos environment. These rights would normally be exercised through parents, guardians and teachers.
5. Schools should be treated as a special place. Children's special vulnerability to asbestos should be recognised in asbestos management procedures.
6. There should be a national audit of the extent and condition of asbestos in schools, the data should be centrally collated and open to public scrutiny.
7. The details of asbestos incidents in schools should be centrally collated and open to public and internal scrutiny, so that the effectiveness of HSE and DCSF and individual local authorities’ asbestos management policies can be assessed.
8. There should be an open, scientific assessment and political and public agreement on the acceptable risk to children in schools from cumulative asbestos exposure.
9. Government policy should be the phased removal of all asbestos from schools. Priority being given to those schools with asbestos in the worst condition

TESTING AND INSPECTIONS

1. Standards and a protocol for air sampling in schools should be set. These should include:
   • A protocol for tests following an asbestos incident to determine past exposure of staff and pupils and a protocol for determining whether a room is safe for reoccupation after an asbestos incident.
   • A protocol for determining asbestos fibre levels from hidden asbestos materials in a school.
2. There should be regular air tests to determine asbestos fibre levels from hidden asbestos. These should be carried out under controlled conditions with disturbance that is representative of everyday school activity such as doors being slammed, walls hit and windows banged.
3. The cumulative risk to children of background and peak exposures during their twelve years at school should be assessed based on such tests.
4. There should be a central register of all types and Marks of "System" built schools and temporary classrooms. The register should include the specified location of asbestos and the possible locations of asbestos.

ASBESTOS GUIDANCE AND TRAINING

• Asbestos guidance should be written specifically for schools that gives:
  • Practical advice on asbestos management.
  • Measures to be taken following an asbestos incident in a school.
• Standards of asbestos training of key people in schools should be set.
• Training courses should be attended by governors, headteachers, asbestos managers, caretakers and maintenance staff.
• All staff should have training about the dangers, locations and precautions to be taken with asbestos.

GOVERNMENT ACTION

1. There should be a Department for Children, Schools and the Family post specifically to oversee all matters to do with asbestos in schools. The officer should have the necessary expertise.
2. An Asbestos in Schools campaign should be reinstated to improve the management of asbestos in schools. The forum should comprise experts from a wide range of specialisations, including the DCFS, HSE, Children's Commissioner, local authorities, occupational hygienists, parents and teachers’ representatives, ATAC and ARCA. They should have executive powers to assess the scale of the problem and to implement measures. They should advise the Government.
3. Government policy should be the phased removal of all asbestos from schools. As part of that all asbestos should be removed from schools when they are refurbished under Government initiatives including BSF, PCF, PFI and PPP.
4. A Parliamentary Select committee should be convened to take evidence, discuss and report to the Government on the problem of asbestos in schools.
5. There should be a Parliamentary debate on the problem of asbestos in schools.