Asbestos in Schools

In February 2012 the All Party Parliamentary Group and Occupational Health & Safety reported on the widespread presence of asbestos in school buildings estimating then that 75% of state schools likely contained asbestos.  They also reported that between November 2010 and 2011 they had surveyed the asbestos risk management plans of 164 schools, 28 of whom were unable to produce any such plan at all.

The report found numerous common failings in schools containing asbestos including inadequate management plans, inadequate labelling and demarcation of asbestos, poor standards of training and promotion of asbestos awareness in school staff in an inadequate surveying of premises.   Increased safety measures were called for and a strategy to remove asbestos from schools was endorsed as an ongoing policy.   Six recommendations were published at the conclusion of the report to assist in safeguarding schools from asbestos risks and future claims.

In short, despite all this publicity and the long-standing awareness of the issue of asbestos in schools, not a lot has been done to alleviate the situation.  A lack of funding and widespread underestimation of the scale of the problem within the Education sector seems to remain with no further comment yet from the HSE or the Department of Education following the referral of non-compliant schools.    It is plain that sustained pressure from working within the sector continued right up to the Covid pandemic.    Further developments are expected, and it will be very interesting to see how matters unfold.   

TBI’s asbestos expert lawyer Mark Ellis believes that the real problem is not going to go away and has not yet been dealt with properly. He refers to it as a potential ticking timebomb.

Just this month the Sunday Times has launched a campaign calling on the government to take action following the diagnosis of a 29-year-old PE Teacher with mesothelioma.  Mesothelioma is the deadliest consequence of exposure to asbestos.  It is a cancer of the mesothelium, a membrane on the outside of the lungs, heart, intestines, and abdomen.  There is no cure and 60% of people diagnosed with it will die within a year.