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Asbestos
ATL is running a campaign to increase awareness of the danger of asbestos in education buildings.
It is estimated that more than 1.5 million workplace properties still contain some form of asbestos. Certainly, asbestos is present in many educational establishments, though staff are often unaware of its presence until repairs or renovations occur.
Exposure to and inhalation of asbestos can lead to serious and terminal related diseases. The British Lung Foundation reports that 2,000 people are diagnosed with the asbestos-related disease, mesothelioma, every year in the UK. The number of deaths from mesothelioma is expected to peak at 2,450 between 2011 and 2015.
As part of its health and safety training for reps ATL is showing parts of a DVD, Mesothelioma: the human face of an asbestos epidemic, to further raise awareness of the issue.
Latest news
ATL is currently surveying its health and safety reps about asbestos management. To take part, see our 'current surveys' page.
The Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) recently wrote to the Press Complaints Commission to complain about an article in the Daily Mail, which made several false claims about the harmful nature of asbestos in schools.
The article, entitled 'the great asbestos hysteria', wrongly claimed that the risks from white asbestos products were 'insignificant', and that the risk of lung cancer caused by white asbestos was 'arguably zero'.
You can download the JUAC letter and the Daily Mail's printed retraction, as well as reading an article in The Guardian about the case.
What you can do
Health and safety reps and members should find out about your employers' asbestos policy and if asbestos is present in your workplace. For more detailed information on what is legally required by employers in relation to asbestos, see our sections on the control of asbestos and exposure to asbestos.
ATL keeps a record of members who may have been exposed to asbestos in the workplace. Contact Eddie Fleming on 020 7930 6441, complete this online form or download a word version of the form and return it to Eddie Fleming, Association of Teachers and Lecturers, 7 Northumberland St, London WC2N 5RD.
You can also view parts of the DVD on You Tube by following the link below.
Elizabeth Bradford
Elizabeth Bradford, the teacher who talks about her mesothelioma in ATL's campaign video, died as a result of the illness in November 2008.
Family friend Michael Less said: "Elizabeth was very brave for she knew that she would die and yet because she wanted people to be aware of the terrible consequences of asbestos exposure she did everything she could to publicise the risks, and in particular the inherent dangers of asbestos in schools."
"I am certain that she would want as many people as possible to hear her powerful message."