Asbestos Found in Welsh Schools

Mesothelioma Risk Feared As Asbestos Found in Welsh Schools

According to a report from the British Health and Safety Executive Office (HSE), more than three hundred and fifty schools in North Wales have high levels of asbestos contamination. In the town of Wrexham, more than sixty schools still have to deal with asbestos remediation and removal projects with an annual budget for the problem of only GBP150,000 (US$240,000), an average less than GBP2,500 (US$4,000) per school.

UNISON, the British labor union for public service workers, expressed their concern and dismay over the problem to officials in the country's education ministry. Union leaders have requested that national and local authorities place asbestos removal as a higher priority in their budgets and for the public opening of asbestos risk assessment reports. They also suggested that schools move classes into safer facilities during the asbestos removal process.

In the past five years, Welsh officials coordinated asbestos disposal projects in more than a hundred schools. After all of this effort, however, numerous schools still must deal with the potentially dangerous substance. The majority of these buildings, constructed during the early and middle years of the twentieth century, used asbestos as fireproofing material and insulation for pipes, walls and floor tiles.

Thus far, the only confirmed case of asbestos-related lung disease came from an art teacher who worked at a school in the town of Flintshire. The teacher, Renee Blodwen Eden, retired in 1998 and died ten years later. An autopsy found that she had contracted mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer that attacks the fluid lining around the lungs. Her doctors stated that Mrs. Eden never handled asbestos directly, but was exposed to the toxic fibers from her work in a contaminated school building.

However, most medical experts recognize that most symptoms of asbestos-related lung disease do not appear until years, or even decades, after the patient's initial exposure. Union officials and government health and safety investigators mentioned their concerns for students and teachers who are still working in classrooms that could carry high levels of asbestos. As they continue to be exposed to asbestos, they also continue to run the risk of developing mesothelioma, asbestosis, or other lung disorders in the years to come.

The regional manager for UNISON's North Wales office, Jean Brady, said that part of the union's concern is that the educational leaders choose not to publicize their asbestos risk assessment reports and that they keep the general public in the dark about the size and impact of the asbestos issue in the country's schools. She also said that she and other union leaders have petitioned the Welsh national government to make a plan of action to deal with the problem and either relocate the affected schools or close them down.

A spokesperson for one of the affected school districts said that their current plans are to leave the asbestos in place, only to remove it when the buildings are due for remodeling or modernization. A staff member with another district said that they are monitoring the situation and are making plans for removal as time and budgets allow for such projects.

Sources: DailyPost.co.uk, Denbighshire Visitor

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