Schools asbestos removal calls grow as government rules out extra funding

An investigation into asbestos in schools has renewed calls for a national removal programme, with teachers, campaigners and lawyers warning that ageing buildings leave staff and pupils exposed to a cancer-causing material.

Asbestos was banned in new installations years ago, but it remains in more than a million UK buildings, including most schools. Around three quarters of schools still contain it. The government says it is good practice to tell parents and pupils about asbestos, but there is no legal requirement to do so, meaning some school communities may not know.

One school worker, identified only as Chris, discovered that two classrooms he works in have asbestos under the floor tiles. He said the finding left him paranoid and that he now scans the floor each day to check no tiles have been dislodged. He said removal was too expensive and the school could not afford it. He argued that a programme should have been set up years ago to remove asbestos from schools.

Lawyer Harminder, who represents teachers and former pupils who have fallen ill, wants air monitoring in all schools to detect whether asbestos fibres are being released. She said her youngest client was 20 or 21 when he came to her and alleges he was exposed in a school setting. She questioned why she is now representing clients dying from mesothelioma after exposure in school buildings.

The cost of removing all school asbestos is thought to top £3 billion. The government's position is that asbestos is safe in situ as long as it is monitored and not disturbed. In a recent reply to campaigners, the Department for Education said there are no plans for exceptional funding to remove it beyond normal refurbishing and rebuilding. The department also said it takes the safety of children and those working with them incredibly seriously and provides guidance and support on managing asbestos in schools.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) told the investigation there is no data to support claims of a higher risk profile in schools compared with other settings. It said Great Britain does not require routine air sampling because little or no airborne asbestos fibres would be detected under normal circumstances. It added that asbestos must be removed if it cannot be safely managed in place, and said it keeps regulations under review and remains open to emerging evidence.

Wayne, who has monitored and removed asbestos for 30 years at domestic sites and schools, accepts the safe in situ policy but says it is only as good as the schools and local education authorities enforcing it. He said schools are not getting any younger, are deteriorating and should have asbestos removed, despite the cost and disruption. 'We need to protect teachers and pupils, children that actually occupy these schools,' he said.

The human cost was also set out by Peter, whose wife Julia, a PE teacher, was exposed to asbestos during building work in her school hall in the 1970s. She was told lessons could carry on as normal, but said she could taste dust from the building work and saw dust on the floor. She fell ill decades later. Asbestos-related disease causes 5,000 deaths each year and remains the biggest workplace killer.