WEST Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox last week urged the Government to issue a warning to teachers about the dangers of exposure to asbestos. Asbestos insulating board can be found in many public buildings, particularly those constructed during the 1960s and 1970s, and is harmless so long as it is not disturbed. However, teachers have frequently displayed children?s work by pinning it to walls or ceilings and are at danger from inhaling the potentially carcinogenic asomite fibres which are consequently released. Following a series of parliamentary questions by Mr Cox, Jacqui Smith, the minister for schools, confirmed ?clear and unqualified guidance? would be issued to schools as a matter of urgency. The issue was brought to Mr Cox?s attention by a constituent, Michael Lees, whose wife died from mesothelioma, as a result of breathing in dust containing asbestos fibres during the 30 years she spent as an art teacher. Mr Cox said: ?Michael Lees has waged single-handedly a tenacious campaign to get recognition of the risks of asbestos in schools and to get the Government to take them seriously. ?I am delighted the Government has finally agreed to take this small but significant step. ?The risks of serious harm are comparatively small, but teachers may be unsuspectingly subjecting themselves to an entirely unnecessary danger and I believe that the department of education has a duty to warn them.?
