The Eastern Daily Press has reported on an asbestos scare at Attleborough High School.

The school has closed a room in its sixth-form after a fractured ceiling tile containing asbestos was found.

While experts have said the level of exposure would have been “exceedingly low”, a helpline has been set up for parents, staff and children.

The continuing presence of asbestos in so many schools, particularly those built in the 1960s and 70s, is highlighted by reports of incidents such as this in Norfolk.

Teachers, and indeed children taught in those schools, are at risk of exposure to asbestos over long periods. More and more teachers are being affected by asbestos-related disease and the NASUWT, like an increasing number of others, has called for the planned removal of asbestos from schools.

This is something which has already happened in the United States and other countries. Arguments against removal based on economic grounds find little favour with those already affected by asbestos exposure in schools and those with legitimate fears about on-going exposure whilst asbestos remains.

Paul Rowen MP is one of a growing number of people adding their voices to the call to address the huge potential problem of asbestos in schools. 

He has cited Government figures showing that 178 teachers have died of mesothelioma or other asbestos related diseases since 1980.

The concern is that asbestos in many schools in the UK has not been fully surveyed and the level of dangerous asbestos containing materials still present is unknown.  It is also feared by many that the current policy, of identifying asbestos wherever it is and leaving it there if undisturbed or undamaged, is unsafe. 

Informed opinion suggests that even asbestos containing materials behind walls and in ceiling voids and ducting may release small amounts of asbestos dust and fibres into the atmosphere within schools, and that these levels may well be harmful. 

This is an opinion seemingly borne out by the unexpectedly high number of teacher deaths identified in government figures.  This growing appreciation of the risks involved has prompted a call for the gradual planned removal of asbestos from all schools. 

The government currently resists such a call, saying removal is unnecessary and the cost unwarranted, but it is noteworthy that it does not apply the same argument to the removal of asbestos from its own environment. 

There are plans in place for the imminent removal of asbestos from the House of Commons - plans which will require the temporary re-location of parliament.  It is high time the government also recognised the importance of protecting the safety of teachers, and indeed children, who risk exposure to asbestos in schools.