Why has the risk to school staff and pupils been covered up?
This report outlines how the UK asbestos industry covered up the risk of developing mesothelioma to maximise construction profits (1940s-1999) and how successive UK governments failed to measure the real risk to staff and children on grounds of cost and disruption.
In contrast, in 1980 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States of America estimated the lifetime risk of school staff and children developing mesothelioma from exposure to a typical range of USA school airborne asbestos levels. They found there was a significant risk and developed the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Agency (1986) regulations plus funding specifically for schools.
Four decades later we now know that the UK has the highest incidence of mesothelioma in the world. The mortality of UK school staff and pupils is far higher than the EPA-predicted mortality for USA schools in 1980. This is probably due in part to the high amount of amosite asbestos used in UK school building construction but also because the EPA in 1980 underestimated the risk to children.
How many staff and pupils have died from mesothelioma cancer?
The report estimated that 1,400 GB teachers and support staff have already died from mesothelioma cancer and 25,200 students are predicted to die from mesothelioma, because they were exposed to asbestos in their former schools prior to the mid-1990s.
How many staff and pupils are predicted to die from mesothelioma in future?
Evidence outlined in the report derived from USA and UK research suggest that the risk is rising steeply due to increased building deterioration and the increase in life expectancy of children since the late 1940s.
Currently, an estimated 8,400 staff and hundreds of thousands of former pupils are predicted to die from mesothelioma in future because they were exposed to asbestos in their former schools after the mid-1990s. This number will continue to rise if this asbestos is not removed.
Do the UK asbestos regulations measure the likelihood of developing mesothelioma?
The UK regulations for the duty to manage asbestos in buildings since 2002 are only designed to help school asbestos managers identify unsafe accessible asbestos by visual inspection. The regulations cannot show how many invisible fibres staff and children are breathing in, when accessible and inaccessible asbestos is unknowingly disturbed during the normal school day. So, school asbestos managers and governments do not know if staff and children are likely to die from mesothelioma.
The likelihood of developing mesothelioma depends on the number and type of asbestos fibres inhaled over time, as well as the age of occupants. The risk of developing mesotheliomas therefore decreases with increasing age of occupant. This means children are most vulnerable and young adults are more vulnerable than older adults. Thus, a child of 5 years has 5 times the risk of staff aged 30 when exposed to a given type and amount of asbestos while young staff aged 20 have twice the risk of staff aged 30.
What levels of airborne asbestos have been found in schools?
Currently, the clearance level after work involving asbestos has wrongly often been used by duty holders as a safe level for reoccupation. In fact, the asbestos regulations state that the clearance level is not a safe level for long term-occupation.
Moreover, it has now been recognised by the courts (2011) that “a level above that commonly found in the air in buildings and the general outdoor environment” would materially increase the risk of developing mesothelioma. This judgement, regarding a former pupil, was upheld by both the court of appeal and supreme court. See: Willmore v Knowsley MBC case [High Court QBD Liverpool district [2009] EWHC 1831 (QB)]. So, if asbestos levels in your school during normal occupation are above that found in schools with asbestos in a good condition then staff and pupils would have a recognised elevated mesothelioma risk. Children have an elevated mesothelioma risk at levels higher than 100f/m³ because they live much longer after exposure.
Unsafe airborne asbestos levels ranging from 5,000f/m³ to over the control level of 100,000f/m³ have been found in system-built schools. These levels elevate the mesothelioma risk of staff and pupils. So, system-built school asbestos levels should be checked.
Why school airborne asbestos levels should be measured?
Unfortunately, despite the known potential risk, airborne asbestos monitoring under normal full occupation conditions is not required by the duty to manage asbestos regulations. Yet, duty holders who do have airborne asbestos levels checked routinely, can use them to show that they have met or are meeting their duties under Sections 2 and 3 of the 1974 Health & Safety at Work Act.
The discovery of high levels should lead to an investigation of the cause and a funded remedy actively reinforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as failure to do so should place the HSE in breach of Section 18 (1974 act).