Of the 152 school councils in England, 110 have systems in place that comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The other 42 councils were visited by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors to ensure they were managing asbestos risk. The inspections resulted in 32 councils being informed of improvements and 10 receiving enforcement notices to improve asbestos management standards.
Asbestos is a toxic mineral that was used in construction through most of the 20th century before being banned. It has since been linked to such fatal diseases as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the chest, abdomen, heart and lungs. The cancers associated with asbestos can take decades to develop, but once they have are very aggressive. Mesothelioma treatment involves surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but usually can only provide patients with an 18 month life expectancy.
"Where local authorities had fallen below acceptable standards, we took action to secure improvements,” said Rosalind Roberts, head of HSE’s public services sector. “Those responsible for managing asbestos must be properly trained and management plans which set out the measures to be taken to manage the risks must be in place and readily available.”
Roberts also added, “There is no room for complacency; managing asbestos in buildings needs effective and ongoing attention. Those most likely to be exposed are tradesmen who may disturb it through their work so it is essential their work is carefully planned and managed."
Another initiative will be undertaken between October 2010 and March 2011 to assess Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 compliance in schools that fall outside of local authority control.
