Figures obtained by the BBC programme Inside Out under the Freedom of Information Act reveal 554 out of the county's 599 schools have the potentially deadly material in the fabric of their buildings.
Most have the least harmful white chrysotite asbestos, which was banned in 1999, and the more harmful amosite brown asbestos, banned in 1985.
A minority of schools also have the most dangerous blue crocidolite asbestos.
The material would have been used in the construction of school's in post-war Britain. It poses a health threat if it is exposed and then crumbles but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says asbestos poses no threat as long as it remains sealed inside buildings. The agency adds it would be dangerous to try and remove the material.
Instead the Government intends to bring in a programme to replace or refit old schools.
Around 4,000 deaths a year are related to people breathing in fibres from asbestos which can result in mesothelioma and lung cancer.
But fears that there will be a rise in teachers dying from asbestos-related diseases have prompted the National Union of Teachers to demand all schools be stripped of asbestos.
John Walder, secretary of the NUT Kent branch, said: "The NUT's view is quite clear, we think that the solution is the complete removal of asbestos from all the working spaces.
"As long as local authorities do not remove asbestos from a site, there will be a risk of fibres getting into the atmosphere and getting into people's lungs."
Children could also be at risk of breathing in the deadly fibres. Dr Robin Howie, an independent asbestos consultant, said: "We are looking at a substantially higher number of mesothelioma deaths in teachers than we would expect.
"What it means is that teacher mesotheliomas are important because they are the tip of the iceberg. And that iceberg are the mesotheliomas in children."
Some five teachers a year die from mesotheliomas.
No comments:
Post a Comment