ASBESTOS IN SCHOOLS THE PARENT'S CAMPAIGN |
The aim of this campaign is to ensure children are safe from asbestos exposure in school
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We want parents to be told what asbestos is in their children's school and we want openness and public scrutiny of asbestos management policy and standards in every school | We support the National Union of Teachers, The National Association of School Masters and Union of Women Teachers, Voice (formerly the Professional Association of Teachers), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Association of School and College Leaders, National Association of Head Teachers, HAZARDS, the Asbestos Consultants Association, Health and Safety speciailist organisations and specialist scientist and laboratories over their concerns about asbestos management in schools. | We call for the phased removal of asbestos and, during the years it will take to remove asbestos, effective management of asbestos with public scrutiny of standards |
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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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 |
Ministerial action following a damning ATaC report on asbestos in schools The Schools Minister Diana Johnson MP met the asbestos in schools group and Asbestos Training and Consultancy (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 www.asbestos exposureschools.co.uk for the detailed ATaC report. A short Press release is at this link. on that site The 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. Further links::
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OUR PRINCIPLES
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TESTING AND INSPECTIONS
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ASBESTOS GUIDANCE AND TRAINING
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GOVERNMENT ACTION
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Contacting MPs | Asbestos exposure in Schools | |||
Campaign objectives | Release of asbestos Fibres in System Built schools | Asbestos Recommendations for System Built Schools | Asbestos Policy Improvements |
This campaign is organised by Richard Lees. It is based on research by Michael Lees. Although Michael Lees totally agrees with the objecctives and with the campaign, the campaign is not run by him. Statements made by the campaign, whether on this web site or elsewhere, should not be quoted as being from Michael Lees, or, necessarily approved by him. Michael Lees authoritative research can be seen at www.asbestosexposureschools.co.uk and that is approved by him, closely referenced and can be quoted, |