NUT reacts to asbestos survey by ATAC

Monday, 22 February 2010 12:00 AM

The findings of a new survey of asbestos management in schools, undertaken by the Asbestos Testing and Consultants Association (ATAC), supports NUT's long-standing concerns.

The report Assessment of Asbestos Management in Schools is published today. The aim of this pilot project, which looked at 12 schools in the first instance, was to collect evidence, identify common flaws and recommend ways forward to both the Government and the Health & Safety Executive.

All of the schools inspected after volunteering for the project contained asbestos, but not one had a written asbestos management plan that was of an acceptable standard. In one school the system of asbestos management was virtually non-existent. Two other schools did not know who was in charge of asbestos management, and in more than half of those schools surveyed, there was evidence of damage to asbestos.

Asbestos-related illness claimed the lives of 92 teachers and lecturers between 2001 and 2005.

The complete removal of asbestos from schools has been a policy of the NUT for many years. The Union instigated a project with ATAC in 2008 with the aim of visiting 100 schools. This joint campaign with other teaching unions led to several meetings during 2009 with Government ministers, including Gordon Brown. The results of today's survey will add further substance to our cause.

Commenting on the report, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union, said:

"Although the sample is small, the flaws highlighted reflect what the NUT has found to be the case over many years - that systems of asbestos management in schools fall far short of expectations.

"We simply must move forward on this issue. I call upon the Government to finally commit to a national audit of asbestos management in educational establishments. Only then will we have a true picture of a problem in urgent need of address."

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For further details contact Caroline Cowie on 0207 380 4706 OR 07879480061.

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