Teachers' Union Urged to Campaign for Removal of all Asbestos from all School Buildings

Carole Hagerdorn made an emotional plea to the Nasuwt teaching union conference in April 2009 to take steps to ensure all asbestos is removed from all school buildings in the UK.

Carole had been diagnosed with Mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos following 30 years of teaching in schools in England. Carole asked "Why should a teacher expect to get an industrial disease? The pain can be worse than lung cancer and although it's too late for me it's not too late to get rid of asbestos from schools"

Additional concerns raised at the Nasuwt conference focussed around the issue that many schools built in the 1960s and 1970s had only been intended to last for 20 years. Thirty or forty years on the buildings are in a state of decay, including any asbestos containing materials. Carole added that "the current Building Schools for the Future initative is a golden opportunity to get rid of asbestos in our schools, but we have concerns that it's not government policy to do that".

A spokeswoman from the Department of Children, Schools and Families said: "The health and welfare of pupils and staff is absolutely paramount. As part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, there are strict requirements for asbestos surveys of buildings to be carried out to identify where any asbestos is. A ll major refurbishments carried out under BSF would normally include removal of all asbestos. Any asbestos that is likely to deteriorate or to be damaged or disturbed would be removed as part of the BSF programme, in line with the HSE's advice."

In the last 25 years, at least 178 teachers have died from Mesothelioma that has been directly linked to asbestos exposure. Thousands of schools across the UK that were built between the 1930s and 1980s are known to contain asbestos. The teachers at the conference voted to lobby schools and local authorities for the removal of all asbestos from all schools by 2012. The National union of Teachers has also called for it's removal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/16/asbestos-teacher-cancer

Teachers' Union Urged to Campaign for Removal of all Asbestos from all School Buildings

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