Wales Teachers at High Risk for Asbestos Disease

UK Study Shows Wales Teachers at High Risk for Asbestos Disease

CARDIFF, Wales - A recent occupational health conference held in Cardiff revealed the disturbing fact that teachers in Welsh schools were 10 times more likely to contract asbestos-related disease than members of the general population. Asbestos is a known cancer-causing agent, and it was commonly used in a wide variety of construction materials that can be found in just about any private or public structure that had been built or renovated in Wales prior to the year 2000, at which time use of the material had been banned.

Numerous speakers at the conference complained about the fact that, for years, official government studies on asbestos-related disease had failed to take into account the high levels of exposures that could be expected in workers such as builders, shipbuilders, furnace workers, etc., and because of this, numerous government studies failed to detect a virtual epidemic of asbestos-caused disease amongst school teachers. Nearly all Welsh schools have some level of asbestos contamination, and conference attendees say the health risks amongst teachers may very well be a small part of a much larger problem.

"If the teachers are showing significantly high on the statistics, then what about the children?" asked Robin Howie, a conference attendee and occupational hygienist. "I think the teaching statistics are the tip of the iceberg. For every teacher exposed, then we have 20 to 30 children," said Howie, who went on to state, "I think there is a significant risk of mesothelioma in schools containing asbestos."

Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral that can be found in abundance in countries around the world. Asbestos exists in a variety of types, colors, and chemical compositions, and it can be mined from deposits below the earth or extracted from a variety of above grade geologic rock formations. The use of asbestos dates back thousands of year to ancient times when its unique ability to withstand damage from fire fascinated the ancients and caused them to weave asbestos fibers into a variety of flameproof fabrics. Asbestos has a very high tensile strength, superior resistance to the damaging effects of harsh corrosives, and it is has highly desirable electrical current and thermal insulation properties.

From the late 1800s until the early 1970s, asbestos could be found in products from automotive parts to a wide variety of building materials to household appliances to baby powder-asbestos was everywhere. In the early 70s, however, researchers and physicians confirmed the fact that the inhalation of microscopic asbestos fibers could lead to serious respiratory diseases up to 50 years later. In addition to other diseases, asbestos is the only known cause of malignant pleural mesothelioma, an incurable, aggressive, and deadly form of lung cancer. Small wonder that the Cardiff conference attendees referred to the problem in Welsh schools as a "horror story" and an "epidemic." Teacher union representatives at the conference called for swift, urgent , and decisive action on the problem of the "hidden killer" in Welsh schools.

The Chief Medical Director for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Dr. John Osman was at the conference when he announced that 90,000 Welsh citizens were expected to die from asbestos-related disease by the year 2050, an unacceptable situation that he, too, called an "epidemic."

HSE's Disease Reduction Program Director, Steve Coldrick, said "This is an absolute horror story, there's no getting away from it." Coldrick stated that, when it comes to the management of asbestos in schools, the old way of doing business is "no longer acceptable." Coldrick and many other worker health professionals at the conference want asbestos removed from all Welsh schools once and for all. Conference leaders intend to bring their findings, as well as their asbestos elimination recommendations to government leaders in the near future, though, many conference goers say they believe the problem of asbestos in Welsh schools will continue for years to come.

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