The Daily Mail recently announced the launch of a campaign to rid all public buildings of the deadly mineral asbestos, starting with schools.
The catalyst for the newspaper taking action was a recent report by the Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC), which, according to the Mail, warned that pupils and teachers face a ‘tsunami’ of deaths because of exposure to what it referred to as the ‘hidden killer’- asbestos.
As the Times newspaper outlined, the report didn’t pull any punches :
“Hundreds of thousands of students and staff, exposed to asbestos in their schools since the mid-1990s, are predicted to die from mesothelioma. Crucially, the evidence in this report suggests asbestos is likely to be a tsunami in the UK. Their deaths would be the consequence of ineffective asbestos regulations and a cost-cutting culture that wrongly implies asbestos is safe so long as it is not disturbed.”
Liz Darlison, the CEO of Mesothelioma UK, a national charity that provides support to mesothelioma patients and their families, called the issue a “national disgrace” and went on to say, “The ongoing presence of asbestos in our deteriorating school buildings is like a time bomb that is slowly exploding.”
What is asbestos and what was it used for?
Asbestos is a fibrous mineral which was in high demand for a long time across a whole array of industries because of its fire-resistant properties, making it an excellent insulation material.
In the construction industry, asbestos was used in vinyl floor tiles, roof felt, coatings and AIB (asbestos insulating board). Pipes and boilers were lagged with asbestos.
Tradesmen with a broad array of skills worked with asbestos regularly: electricians, plumbers, bricklayers, roofers, laggers and labourers. Rarely were they or their colleagues provided with even the most basic forms of PPE (personal protective equipment)
Asbestos Exposure
As a result, those who frequently worked with asbestos were at risk of exposure to the dust and fibres that hung in the air, and depending on the nature of their jobs, the amount of exposure could be considerable.
The tiny fibres that asbestos workers were inadvertently breathing in settled on their lungs and could not be expelled by, for instance, coughing. Those fibres often remain in the lungs for decades without causing noticeable health problems.
One of the tragic quirks of heavy asbestos exposure is that it can take between 20 to 60 years (the “latency period”) before the first symptoms of asbestos disease start to appear. So, a worker who suffered exposure in the late 1980s, for example, may only now be receiving a diagnosis of asbestos disease.
There are four main types of asbestos disease: mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer, pleural thickening and asbestosis. All these illnesses can be fatal, but in the case of mesothelioma and lung cancer, they almost always are.
When was Asbestos Banned?
The use and importation into the UK of asbestos was banned in two stages, with blue asbestos (amosite) banned in 1985 and white asbestos (chrysotile) in 1999. Since that date, it’s no longer legal to use asbestos for any reason whatsoever.
What about the asbestos already present in buildings at the end of 1999?
Although the ban prevented the use of asbestos in the future, it was never intended that it should go further and set out plans for the removal of asbestos from the fabric of public buildings such as schools, hospitals, libraries and in at least 2500 places within the House of Commons estate.
What is the guidance on dealing with asbestos in buildings built before 2000?
Since then, the Government’s general guidance on asbestos in buildings built pre-2000 is to leave it intact, and in its updated guidance online of 25th April 2024, it confirmed that :
“Intact asbestos materials in a place where they are unlikely to be disturbed should not cause any harm.”
However, according to the JUAC website,
- It’s estimated that 83% of all schools contain asbestos, and since no schools since 1999 have been likely to contain asbestos in the fabric of buildings, we can assume that those that contain asbestos are buildings built over 25 years ago. When asbestos becomes worn, damp or damaged, it can mean that the affected asbestos gives off dust and fibres. As already outlined, when asbestos becomes airborne, it poses a risk to those in its vicinity.
- Asbestos in schools is not only found on pipes and boilers, as lagging. It’s also often in the walls of classrooms and on ceiling tiles.
- Research indicates that children are more vulnerable to the effects of asbestos than adults.
- The policy of the English and Welsh governments follows the guidance that, where possible, asbestos should be left intact. Neither of the governments has set out a policy of phased removal.
What are the Statistics on Deaths from Asbestos Disease?
According to the Daily Mail article, since 1980, at least 1400 teachers and support staff have died from asbestos disease, and over 12,000 former pupils have died from asbestos diseases, too.
Historically, most deaths from asbestos exposure have been the result of asbestos exposure in industrial settings from working with asbestos in its various forms.
On average, approximately 5000 people have died every year from asbestos disease during the last decade. The most recent figures provided by UK Asbestos Training Association Ltd (UKATA) reveal that there were 2,257 deaths from mesothelioma in 2022, and a similar number died from asbestos lung cancer, whilst 493 death certificates mentioned asbestosis.
What do the Papers say?
In addition to the Daily Mail article, several other mainstream news outlets have published articles on this subject within the last few days.
The Sunday Times has launched a campaign called Act Now on Asbestos, which sets out a five-point plan for removing asbestos and setting up a register of properties containing asbestos, whilst the Daily Mirror also covered the report’s findings in detail.
The JUAC website invites visitors to its site to sign a petition set up in the name of Lucie Stephens, whose mother, a retired teacher, died of mesothelioma 6 years ago. The petition aims to persuade the Government to introduce a policy for the phased removal of asbestos from schools and to make it incumbent on every school in the UK to provide an annual report on the type and condition of any asbestos found on its premises.
Mooneerams Solicitors works in partnership with a specialist asbestos disease claims solicitor with over 27 years of experience dealing solely with asbestos claims.
