Asbestos is a naturally occurring soft fibrous mineral widely used in construction throughout the 20th Century, before finally being banned in 2000.
But asbestos is not just a problem of the past information obtained from Westmorland and Furness Council shows that across the Westmorland and Furness district covering the former Eden, South Lakes and Barrow areas:
6 Nurseries in the local authority currently contain asbestos.
94 State-funded primary schools in the local authority currently contain asbestos.
6 State-funded secondary schools in the local authority currently contain asbestos.
5 Sixth-form colleges in the local authority currently contain asbestos.
Of these 2 are Secondary schools and 21 are Primary schools in the Penrith and Eden area.
In 2023 the HSE schools asbestos inspection programme resulted in one-third of schools being found to be in material breach of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, and in seven per cent of schools inspected the issue was serious enough for an enforcement notice to be served due to deficiencies in management.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports that more than 5,000 people each year die from diseases related to asbestos, including more than 2,250 from mesothelioma, a type of cancer that is solely caused by asbestos exposure. This includes around 200 teachers who have died of mesothelioma since 2000.
The UK now has the highest incidence of mesothelioma in the world, and the evidence indicates that hundreds of thousands of children and staff may die from it in future because they were exposed to asbestos in their former schools.
Current UK Health and safety legislation does not require schools to inform parents about the presence of asbestos in their children's school. Some schools do provide parents with information to assure them that effective management arrangements are in place.
NASUWT teachers union has raised concerns around what it says is a “culture of secrecy about asbestos in many schools”. Good practice is to label asbestos-containing materials to prevent accidental exposure, but the union claims this rarely happens in schools, so as not to ‘cause worry’.
The poor condition of school buildings is another factor, making it more likely that any asbestos present in schools will be in poor condition.
The most common uses of asbestos in school buildings are:
The practice of inserting drawing pins and staples into asbestos insulating boards (AIB), ceilings or walls, e.g. when putting up displays in classrooms, should cease as an activity. Although the risk may be small, it should be avoided. The National Education Union advised members.
A report into Asbestos in schools published last year found that hundreds of thousands of students and staff, exposed to asbestos in their schools since the mid-1990s, are predicted to die in future from mesothelioma.
Children are unlikely to display any symptoms of asbestos-related illnesses, due to the long latency period conditions such as asbestosis and mesothelioma have. For instance, asbestosis typically presents at least 10 years after the initial exposure, though it is common for this to be even longer (between 30 and 40 years).
Meaning that while children can unknowingly be exposed to potentially lethal amounts of asbestos fibre, it can be impossible to know how much damage has been caused until symptoms materialise sometimes decades later.
Currently, data on the development of asbestos-related illnesses triggered during adolescents is not tracked by the Office for National Statistics. Making it difficult to know just how many adults who have been diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses, such as asbestosis or mesothelioma, may have developed the illnesses as a consequence of asbestos exposure during their time at school.
The Department for Education stated ten years ago that “[exposure] of children to asbestos is likely to render them more vulnerable to developing mesothelioma than exposure of adults to the equivalent asbestos dose”.
We asked Westmorland and Furness Council as the local education authority for comment on the situation of Asbestos in schools across the district.
A spokesperson from Westmorland and Furness said: "Asbestos containing materials are present in the 65 council-maintained schools in Westmorland and Furness for which the Council has responsibility. Asbestos is prevalent in approximately 81 per cent of all schools in England. This is due to asbestos being widely used in school construction, especially before a ban in 1999.
There are 23 council-maintained schools in the Eden area which have asbestos containing materials present within them. Of these 2 are secondary schools and 21 are primary schools. The council cannot confirm the presence of asbestos within schools that are not within the local authority's control".
These asbestos containing materials are managed in accordance with all statutory requirements. Whilst the council are the Duty Holder, some responsibilities are devolved to schools. The council organises and monitors asbestos utilising periodic re-inspections and provides reports to each school, together with advice on how to carry out their own asbestos management responsibilities on site.
Any emergency repairs or those above an agreed monetary threshold are organised and funded by the council. Minor repairs are the responsibility of the school to organise and fund. These works are also monitored by the council in accordance with their statutory responsibilities."
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