Hundreds of thousands of people will die from exposure to asbestos in Britain’s schools, a bombshell report claims.
Pupils and teachers face a ‘tsunami’ of deaths after being exposed to the ‘hidden killer’ every day, the authors warn.
The Mail today launches a campaign to strip the toxic material from all public buildings – starting with hospitals and more than 21,000 schools where it is present.
Since 1980 at least 1,400 teachers and support staff and 12,600 pupils, have died from mesothelioma – an aggressive cancer caused by inhaling asbestos fibres.
But this number is predicted to grow dramatically across the next next 20 to 60 years as Britain’s crumbling schools expose more children and educators to increasing danger.
Hundreds of thousands of children are at risk from asbestos in classrooms, a new report has warned (file photo)
Asbestos up close. The Mail is today launching a campaign to strip the toxic material from all public buildings
Former headteacher Roger Tweed, who is dying from mesothelioma, pictured with his late wife Joan
The Mail is also calling on ministers to create a national online database of every non-domestic building which contains asbestos.
The Joint Union Asbestos Committee report, produced after an investigation by eight unions representing heads, teachers and support staff, states: ‘Hundreds of thousands of students and staff, exposed to asbestos in their schools since the mid-1990s, are predicted to die from mesothelioma.’
It adds: ‘Crucially, the evidence in this report suggests that [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’.’
The findings add to growing pressure to clear asbestos from thousands of schools built since the 1960s that have been used for decades longer than they were designed for.
The policy of successive governments has been to leave asbestos where it is unless visibly damaged and shedding fibres.
The Asbestos: Britain’s Hidden Killer campaign aims to end that policy.
Once a database is launched, it must be used to start a programme to remove asbestos from buildings.
Lawyer Harminder Bains, whose own father died of mesothelioma, has been representing asbestos victims for 30 years. She has now been instructed by the National Education Union to bring a legal case against the government to force it to make schools safe.
Last night, Ms Bains, of Leigh Day solicitors, branded the policy of leaving the killer material in place ‘outrageous’.
Asbestos present in schools built since the 1960s that have been used for decades longer than their design life are putting students and staff exposed at risk of dying from mesothelioma, the report says (file photo)
‘You don’t have to see visible dust for it to be dangerous, and inhaling any amount is potentially deadly,’ she said. ‘Schools are not fit for purpose, which is an horrific problem.
‘As one teacher said to me, we would not send our children into burning buildings, so why are we sending them into buildings riddled with asbestos?’
Liz Darlison, CEO of the charity Mesothelioma UK, said the issue is a ‘national disgrace’.
She warned: ‘The ongoing presence of asbestos in our deteriorating school buildings is like a bomb that is slowly exploding.
‘It’s an unbelievable tragedy and a national disgrace that we are not doing more to protect people, especially children.
‘Mesothelioma UK’s nursing team is very concerned about the increasing number of people for whom we care that have not worked in occupations usually associated with asbestos.
‘Low levels of exposure, such as those from a school or hospital environment, are lethal. We implore our new government to take action.’
Asbestos-related disease is the biggest cause of industrial deaths in the UK, amounting to more than 5,000 deaths a year – far more than the 1,645 road fatalities in England and Wales last year.
Most asbestos-linked deaths are caused by mesothelioma, a cancer affecting the mesothelium, a membrane surrounding the lungs, heart and intestines. In the vast majority of cases, the lungs are worst affected.
It can take 20 to 60 years between exposure to asbestos and the appearance of symptoms, usually abdominal pain, chest pains, coughing and breathlessness caused by a build-up of fluid on the lungs.
Once a diagnosis is made, most victims die within a year. There is no cure, and treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy can only slow down the growth of the cancer.
Not everyone who is exposed to asbestos develops mesothelioma, but in those who do, it is always fatal.
Peter Browne, 77, whose PE teacher wife Julia died from mesothelioma in 2022 after being exposed to asbestos at St Teresa’s Girls’ School in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, criticised the government’s lack of action.
He said: ‘The government says it has a plan for school buildings, but unless that includes the immediate removal of asbestos, what’s the point?
‘Thousands are dying each year, but cases are not often publicised, so it’s very much an underestimated situation.’
The JUAC produced the new report, entitled ‘What is the Real Risk from Asbestos in Schools?’, on behalf of the eight unions.
Its lead investigator, Dr Gill Reed, drew on official government figures and findings from research in the US and UK to arrive at the numbers likely to die.
She said: ‘These findings are very worrying because there is this mantra spread by the Government and the Health and Safety Executive that asbestos in schools is safe as long as it’s not disturbed.
‘But no one knows if it’s been disturbed because you can’t always see it, and school checks are simply not adequate or not being carried out effectively.
‘Our research predicts that the risk is increasing as buildings degrade, so hundreds of thousands of staff and children in school today will die from mesothelioma in the future. Children and young staff are particularly vulnerable.’
Nurse Helen Bone from Middlesbrough, who has terminal mesothelioma (pictured with daughters Livvy (dress) and Maddy) is backing the Mail’s campaign
Munira Wilson MP, who has previously pressured the government to reveal the scale of the asbestos problem, said: ‘This study is shocking and goes to emphasise the devastating impact of years of neglect on our schools.
‘The government must act urgently to identify and remove asbestos from high-risk areas such as corridors and stairwells. Every parent should know that when they send their child to school, they will be taught in a safe environment.’
Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, echoed the Mail’s call for a national register of asbestos in schools.
‘We still don’t know how much there is,’ he said. ‘Only when we know where it is can we implement proper protocols to remove it.’
Charles Pickles, of campaign group Airtight on Asbestos, said managing asbestos in schools safely is impossible because boisterous pupils are bound to disturb the fragile material.
‘Sadly, this means that we will inevitably face huge numbers of mesothelioma cases in the years to come,’ he said. ‘We must begin facing up to the problem by introducing a national register of asbestos that will enable us to plan for its removal, with schools as a priority.’
Teacher Dawn Hamilton died from mesothelioma at the age of 67
Professor Kevin Bampton, chief executive of the British Occupational Hygiene Society, which promotes workplace safety, said it is a ‘myth’ that leaving asbestos in place is the safest way to deal with it.
He added: ‘The longer it is left, the more difficult removal becomes, and the longer children and teachers are at risk of background exposure.’
There is no official figure for the number of schools containing asbestos. But freedom of information requests to Department for Education (DfE) have established that there are at least 21,500.
There are more than 32,000 schools in the UK, and any built before 1999 – when the use of asbestos was finally banned – are likely to contain it.
A HSE spokesman said it did not recognise the figures quoted by the JUAC.
They added: ‘Our sympathies are with anyone affected by asbestos-related illness. Cases of mesothelioma are expected to decline during this decade, as asbestos has been banned for almost 25 years and legal protections are in place.
‘Our inspection campaign showed that the majority of schools are managing asbestos safely. We are continuing to carry out inspections on asbestos compliance in schools and elsewhere.’
A Department for Education spokesman said: ‘We take the safety of children and those who work with them incredibly seriously. We expect all local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties, drawing on appropriate professional advice.’