Teacher's Union Says Welsh Schools are Ticking Asbestos Time Bombs

CARDIFF - At a recent occupational health and worker safety conference held at the National Assembly, the Health and Safety Executive stated that Wales could very well be facing an "epidemic" of asbestos-caused cancers due to the prevalence of asbestos in the nation's schools. Countless health and other organizations around the world have classified asbestos as a known cancer-causing agent, and its presence in Welsh schools is widely acknowledged.

One Welsh organization that took the Health Executive's comments seriously is the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), a union that has long been critical of the government's unwillingness to fully address the issue of asbestos in the nation's classrooms. Because of the Health Executive's alarming statements, asbestos expert Emma Corfield, acting on behalf of the ATL, has demanded that the government perform an immediate, comprehensive, and nationwide audit of asbestos in all of the country's schools.

Asbestos is a ubiquitous, naturally occurring silicate mineral that can be found in large quantities in many nations around the world. Asbestos is a general term that describes a class of geologic substances that vary greatly in chemical composition, type, color, etc., but all forms of asbestos have been widely used by mankind for thousands of years because the material is: resistant to high temperatures (asbestos is nearly fireproof); resistant to mold, moisture, and corrosive chemical damage; an excellent insulation material, characterized by a very high tensile strength and more.

Once widely prized by countless industries, asbestos was used extensively in a broad spectrum of industrial processes and manufactured products (including building materials), though, in the early 1970s, it was confirmed that certain types of exposures to asbestos could be deadly. Researchers and medical experts concluded that the inhalation of microscopic asbestos fibers could, up to 50 years later, cause the onset of diseases such as the aggressive cancer killer known as malignant mesothelioma.

Because of the extreme toxicity of asbestos, the ATL wants the substance to be entirely removed from all Welsh schools. Asbestos expert Corfield called the situation a "ticking time bomb" that could cause today's young students to die in their 40s. It is already documented that Welsh school teachers are 10 times more likely to contract asbestos-related diseases, and there's no reason to believe that students are not similarly endangered. To date, however, the ATL has not received a response from the government relevant to the union's request for a national asbestos audit.

ATL Director Dr. Phillip Dixon expressed his disappointment related to the government's lack of response to the union's call for a thorough accounting of asbestos in the nation's schools. "This isn't a trivial matter," said Dixon. "It's a potentially life threatening matter." When asked about the prevalence of asbestos in Welsh schools, Dixon said, "Due to the age of the building stock, my guess would be that the situation is worse here than it is in England." Dixon's comment refers to the fact that asbestos contamination in British schools has been widely acknowledged as being dangerously unacceptable. Angered by the Welsh Assembly Government's "total lack of response", Dixon accused the politicians of, once again, "passing the buck."

Asbestos surveyor Corfield reports that the use of asbestos had been halted in Welsh construction approximately 30 years ago, but, because of the particularly long delay between exposure to asbestos and the onset of disease, the legacy of asbestos in schools is just now starting to "come back to haunt us." Approximately 4,000 asbestos-caused deaths occur annually in the UK, and a report from the Health Executive predicts that 90,000 more will die by the year 2050.

When asked for their comment on the union's call for a national audit, a Welsh Assembly Government spokesman simply stated: "Local Education Authorities, as the building owner and employer, are required to comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulation 2006."

Source: WalesOnline

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