Acorn Analytical Services directors Neil Munro (right) and Ian Stone
Work has begun to create a lasting memorial to the hundreds of UK teachers who have died as a result of exposure to asbestos.
Northampton-based asbestos consultancy Acorn Analytical Services launched the memorial project during Global Asbestos Awareness Week to highlight the issue of asbestos and the danger it poses to staff and children.
Surveys have revealed that more than 80 per cent of UK schools still contain asbestos and, according to the National Education Union, more than 200 teachers have died from the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma in the past 20 years.
Speaking at the project’s launch in Global Asbestos Awareness Week, Acorn director Neil Munro said: “People are always shocked to learn that teachers and children are being put at risk by asbestos in our schools every day.
“Tragically, it is well documented that teachers and pupils have a heightened risk of contracting mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos fibres in the school environment. In fact, the risk to teachers is three to five times that for other workplaces.
“Teachers are losing their lives from acts as simple as pinning up work on noticeboards because they are unaware that they contain asbestos.”
Asbestos was widely used in school buildings between the 1940s and 1980s and regularly used in construction in the UK up until 1999, when it was banned. The likelihood of asbestos being present in educational buildings built before 2000 remains high, according to Acorn Analytical. The company launched its Asbestos in Schools campaign on World Teachers Day in October last year.
“Now we want to take that a stage further,” said Mr Munro. “What we want to do next is to pay tribute to teachers who have lost their lives because of asbestos by creating a lasting online memorial to them.
Acorn Analytical is inviting families of former teachers who have died as a result of asbestos to submit a short biography and a photograph of their loved one for the memorial, which is expected to go online later this year. To contribute to the memorial project email .
“We want the memorial to ensure they will not be forgotten and we also hope their stories will encourage people to be more proactive when it comes to tackling asbestos in schools with which they have links,” said Mr Munro.