To help you develop your awareness of asbestos, we\u2019ve produced a free downloadable poster for teachers and students.<\/a> It will help you recognise where asbestos may be in your school and what you should do if you discover it. In addition, we have written this article to expand your knowledge and help you feel confident in preventing asbestos risks.<\/p>\n Asbestos is a fibrous material that was once used in building constructions, due to its heat-resistant and insulating properties. It was fully banned from use in 1999, as breathing in its carcinogenic fibres poses a major risk to health. However, buildings that were constructed pre-2000, such as older schools, may still contain it.<\/p>\n Any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in school buildings will not put people\u2019s health in danger if they are left alone. The fibres only pose a risk if you disturb them.<\/strong> The problem, however, is that asbestos is difficult to spot and could be anywhere, as it was originally used widely and for various areas in buildings.<\/p>\n Asbestos is dangerous no matter what premises you\u2019re in, but the nature of schools and their ACMs make them particularly high risk. The primary problems are: risk of exposure; without an awareness, asbestos can be easy to disturb; deterioration of ACMs in old schools; and exposure being disruptive and costly.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s explore these areas in more detail.<\/p>\n Asbestos in school buildings poses a major risk to potentially hundreds of people, including students and staff. What\u2019s more is that these people could be at risk of asbestos exposure for a seriously long period of time<\/strong> \u2013 whether it\u2019s teachers who work there for years, or students who study there for their entire primary or secondary education.<\/p>\n The National Education Union<\/a> (NEU) has shared figures about the effects of asbestos exposure in schools over the last few decades:<\/p>\n The risk of disturbing asbestos is significant if teachers, pupils, and anyone who needs to do work in the building \u2013 such as contractors \u2013 are unaware of its presence and dangers. Students in particular may not fully grasp the severity of asbestos risks and may accidentally disturb it without much consideration of their actions.<\/p>\n The following case study<\/strong> about exposure to asbestos in schools \u2013 shared by the NEU \u2013 highlights how easily people can unwittingly disturb asbestos and put others at risk:<\/p>\n In 2007, a 46-year-old woman was diagnosed with mesothelioma. She testified in a court case that she was exposed to asbestos as a student in the 1970s. Her testimony recalled council workers removing ceiling tiles for electrical work, pupils removing ceiling tiles to put blazers in ceiling cavities as a prank, and students vandalising stacked tiles in girls\u2019 toilets. Many of these areas turned out to contain asbestos.<\/p>\n ACMs pose a particularly high risk in old school buildings because asbestos was mostly installed in them between the 1940s \u2013 1970s. According to the NEU, 60% of school buildings are over 40 years old. This means that, over time, the ACMs in these old schools have been naturally deteriorating, which can lead to asbestos fibres being released.<\/p>\n Given that schools are heavily occupied, the risk of deterioration is even greater, and the chances of exposure are incredibly high.<\/p>\n Not only is disturbing asbestos a real threat to people\u2019s wellbeing, but it can also be extremely disruptive and costly for schools. <\/strong>A major asbestos disturbance could result in the school needing to temporarily relocate hundreds of students for safety reasons, while removal and decontamination is underway.<\/p>\n A case study of a school in Wales<\/a> shows just how problematic this can be:<\/p>\n While a school was undergoing electrical work during the summer, the site manager noticed that the contractors had unsealed bags of asbestos waste. The manager contacted an asbestos consultant, who identified that asbestos fibres had spread throughout the whole school. They had to find 1,000 students somewhere else to attend while the building was decontaminated. This cost the school and council \u00a34.54 million, and it didn\u2019t reopen until a year later.<\/p>\n As you can see, it\u2019s crucial for duty holders of schools to manage asbestos, especially if maintenance work needs doing. Furthermore, everyone needs to do their part in preventing exposure. This means you need to know where asbestos might be present<\/strong> in your school.<\/p>\n Various areas of school buildings may contain asbestos, but it\u2019s difficult to identify at a glance because it\u2019s usually inside<\/strong> something. For example, in a wall cavity for insulation. What\u2019s more problematic is that it\u2019s often hidden in plain sight, and people are usually completely unaware of it.<\/p>\n In 2017, the NEU carried out a survey to determine how many staff knew their school contained asbestos. 46% of respondents had been told that theirs did contain asbestos, but not exactly where it was.<\/strong> Of the 46% who had been told where the asbestos was located, 75% said that it was in easily-accessible locations,<\/strong> such as floors, ceilings, and window frames.<\/p>\n It\u2019s crucial for you to know what the most common asbestos-containing materials in schools are, so you can avoid \u2013 and prevent others from \u2013 disturbing them.<\/p>\n The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 places a legal responsibility on schools\u2019 duty holders to manage asbestos. This refers to those in charge of the school\u2019s maintenance or who have some control of the premises \u2013 usually the local authority or governing body.<\/p>\n It\u2019s therefore expected that duty holders share information about asbestos in the school<\/strong> with staff members \u2013 particularly site and facilities managers. This information should be passed on to teachers, and anyone else who works in the school, who may be at risk of disturbing or being exposed to the asbestos. The duty of preventing asbestos risks then extends to you.<\/p>\n In some cases \u2013 such as if the risk is high but removal hasn\u2019t been arranged \u2013 it may also be appropriate for staff to receive asbestos awareness training<\/a>. This provides a greater level of understanding about asbestos. However, a basic awareness of where asbestos is in your school and what procedures to follow is still essential, as no two premises are the same.<\/p>\n
\nWhat is Asbestos?<\/h2>\n
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\nWhy is Asbestos in Schools a Problem?<\/h2>\n
Risk of Exposure<\/h3>\n
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\nWithout an Awareness, Asbestos Can Be Easy to Disturb<\/h3>\n
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\nDeterioration of ACMs in old schools<\/h3>\n
\nExposure is Disruptive and Costly<\/h3>\n
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\nWhere Can Asbestos Be Found in Schools?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nExamples of Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools<\/h3>\n
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\n Examples of asbestos-containing materials<\/th>\n Examples of where they may be in a school<\/th>\n Examples of how people may disturb them<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n Floor and ceiling tiles<\/td>\n In toilets, classrooms, corridors, staff rooms, cupboards, gyms, and halls.<\/td>\n Contractors removing the tiles, students accidentally hitting the ceiling with a ball, vandalism, or damage from general wear and tear.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Pipework<\/td>\n Exposed pipes in classrooms, corridors, and boiler rooms.<\/td>\n Knocked into by a desk chair or being disturbed during maintenance work.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Window frames<\/td>\n Classroom, lunch room, and corridor windows.<\/td>\n Being picked at by students or disrupted due to general wear and tear of using the window.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Insulation boards<\/td>\n In walls and columns, such as those in toilets, classrooms, corridors, staff rooms, cupboards, and halls.<\/td>\n Puncturing or damaging the wall, e.g. a teacher putting up a display with drawing pins or a student knocking into it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Cement and plaster<\/td>\n Spray finishes on walls, ceilings, and columns.<\/td>\n Damaging or disrupting the integrity of the structure, e.g. a contractor drilling into it or a student putting up posters with a staple gun.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Roofing<\/td>\n Exterior roofing of school.<\/td>\n Disturbed during contractor work or accidentally damaged by a football.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Boiler insulation<\/td>\n Boiler rooms.<\/td>\n Cleaners maintaining the room and general wear and tear.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\nWhat are the Legal Duties of Schools that Contain Asbestos?<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nTheir duties include, but are not limited, to:<\/h4>\n
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