Mesothelioma Awareness - Scottish Citizens Seek Data on Asbestos in Schools

Several groups have leveled criticism at Scotland's Highland Council, accusing the members of refusing to reveal the result of asbestos survey work done on the area's schools. The reality is that the government agency does not have adequate data to determine if the toxic substance exists or if it presents a hazard in nearly a third of the area's schools, since those buildings have yet to undergo an asbestos assessment. This fact is causing serious concern for area residents, as crews have conducted full inspections on less than forty percent of the schools.

Documents originating from the governing body of northern Scotland show that they have requested information on "asbestos management" for the one hundred and ninety-seven local schools. However, complete assessments are only available on seventy-four of the buildings, while fifty-eight have had partial inspections and sixty-five have had none at all. Government officials have yet to announce which schools fall under each category, even as worried parents, area residents and media outlets continue to request the information.

Among those voicing his displeasure with the council is Michael Lees. Mr. Lees' wife, Gina, was a teacher in the area for several years and died of complications from mesothelioma, a form of cancer directly linked to long-term asbestos exposure, in 2000. Mr. Lees has continued to address the problem of asbestos in schools to varying Scottish and British government agencies since his wife's death. He said that the fact that asbestos survey records were either incomplete or nonexistent for so many schools was "unacceptable". He also cited a report released last year by the Scottish Government that showed more than a hundred schools as being in "poor condition", with another seven in "bad condition".

Some examples of how the local schools have deteriorated can be attributed to how asbestos problem has appeared in many local schools, most notably as a long-term issue at Wick High School. Last March, crews at nearby Nairn Academy stirred up layers of artex insulation in some classroom ceilings. The school was forced to close the contaminated rooms for several weeks and had to relocate several classes. Without the data that can come from full asbestos surveys, Mr. Lees said, school officials "cannot claim that the schools are safe" and that incidents like those at Nairn Academy could recur all over the country.

According to a spokesman for the Highland Council, the government is working toward gathering all the data necessary to determine the level of potential danger in the current school facilities. However, he also said that full-scale asbestos removal projects for every building would not be "a practical proposition" due to both cost factors and the safety of students, teachers and workers and that the council is looking at "asbestos management plans" for each building to make sure that workers do not take any steps to disturb the asbestos in place.

A local representative in the Scottish Parliament, Mary Scanlon, expressed her displeasure at the council; both for their slow release of the relevant data and the potentially serious health hazard that continued asbestos exposure in the schools could pose. She noted that, since mesothelioma can take decades to surface in affected patients, that the impact of asbestos contamination in these schools might not be known for many years to come.

Source: Highland News

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