Campaigners have called for the Welsh government to take a greater role in addressing the issue of asbestos in schools…
Asbestos was widely used in the building industry during the 1960s and 70s, but has been banned in the UK since the 1990s after it was linked to lung diseases.
The UK and Welsh government have failed to agree over whether the issue is devolved, but campaigners are calling for the latter to take a greater role in addressing the problem.
In 2012, there were reportedly 1,514 schools in Wales that contained asbestos. This is around 85 per cent of the total number of schools in the country.
England saw policy published on the issue of asbestos in March this year. However, there remains uncertainty over who has responsibility in Wales. A spokesperson for the Welsh government said the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was responsible for enforcing health and safety law.
He said: “We also published our own advice and guidance in May 2014. However, responsibility for the management of asbestos lies with the duty holder and in the school premises context, this can either be the local authority or the school governing body.”
Lawyer Cenric Clement-Evans from the Right to Know: Asbestos in Schools Wales campaign said: “I don’t care who takes responsibility, I want somebody to take responsibility.
“This is too important to get embroiled in some form of party politics or some big issues between the Welsh government and the UK government.
“I think that the way is fairly straightforward, not the managing of the issue but the putting together of a steering group, deciding policy.
“I don’t think it’s difficult to start that ball rolling.”
A total of 224 people in Britain whose last occupation was recorded as “Teaching Professional” died of mesothelioma between 2003 and 2012. The disease has been linked to exposure to asbestos.
The symptoms of the cancer caused by asbestos generally take between 30 to 40 years to develop, but once diagnosed can lead to death within 12 and 21 months.
There are currently no statistics to suggest how many pupils may have developed mesothelioma due to exposure during their school years. However, data from the UK government’s Committee on Carcinogenicity suggests a child exposed to asbestos at aged five is five times more likely to develop cancer than that of an adult first exposed at age 30.
