Cancer life insurance: Asbestos in schools ‘causing teacher deaths’
Asbestos in schools is putting children and teachers at risk of cancer and must be removed, said a teaching union.
In a survey of 5,000 teachers by union Nasuwt, almost one in five knew of asbestos in their school and it claimed that many local authorities are not taking their responsibility towards staff and pupils seriously.
Asbestos was widely used in building new schools between the 1940s and 1970s, but has since been found to cause mesothelioma – a form of cancer in the lungs.
Languages teacher Carole Hagedorn was diagnosed with mesothelioma after 30 years of teaching.
She said: "I am understandably unhappy that the lack of proper asbestos control will end my life prematurely, like some sort of collateral damage or natural wastage in the education game."
In total, 228 teachers died from asbestos-related disease from 1991 to 2005, according to figures from the Health and Safety Executive.
Chris Keates, general secretary Nasuwt, said that a long-term strategy for the complete removal of asbestos from all educational buildings must be the goal.
Almost 2,000 people a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma and exposure to asbestos is responsible for up to nine out of 10 cases, according to the charity Mesothelioma UK.
The Insurance Helpline specialises in obtaining cover for people living with cancer.
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