Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Students and staff members at nearly 900 school facilities in Northern Ireland have been living and learning in the shadow of a killer.  A recently uncovered audit discovered that the schools contained unsafe levels of asbestos. 

The number is staggering considering the overall density of schools in the area.  In fact, it translates into 84% of all the schools within the Northern Education Board area.  That’s the highest concentration in any area within the board’s subdivisions.  However, Northern Ireland was not alone.  Asbestos was reported within all of the board’s areas.

Various types of asbestos have been effectively banned in the UK for years but unfortunately all of these school facilities were constructed years or even decades before safety regulations were put in place.  The real danger comes from degraded materials that have become unstable because of aging, weathering, or other damage.  Asbestos materials that are weakened can “leak” fibers into the air where than can easily be ingested or inhaled.  Even small amounts of this friable airborne asbestos can be deadly, leading to a wide variety of crippling diseases including mesothelioma. 

While Northern Ireland’s Department of Health was quick to remind the public that in-place asbestos does not prove a health risk, parents and faculty speculate that much of the asbestos in Ireland’s schools may very well be dangerous. 

The shocking statistics came to light after the Belfast Telegram filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the five education boards.  The investigation showed that 876 schools – including 61 nursery schools – contained asbestos materials.  What’s more, crocidolite – widely regarded as the most dangerous form of asbestos – was uncovered in 21 of the schools.

The UK does have regulations in-place similar to those mandated by the EPA here in the United States regarding the proper management of in-place asbestos at school facilities.  These regulations provide that asbestos may remain in place as long as it poses no danger of becoming airborne (such as being sealed under layers of floor wax or paint) and the asbestos materials must be regularly inspected. 

However, these regulations rarely provide comfort – especially to grieving families.  This discovery brings to mind the sad case of young Sophie Ellis.  She was a student in the UK who developed mesothelioma at the age of just 13.  She died five years later.  While no concrete evidence has linked her asbestos exposure to a classroom setting, this revelation does make parents wonder whether or not their kids are as safe as they could be at school.

There has so far been no mention of any plans to remove the offending asbestos materials on a wide scale basis.  To do so would cost school districts billions of dollars.