Teachers at risk of asbestos related lung cancer

[HappydaysArehere]

Has anyone heard of teachers having asbestos lung trouble through pinning up and taking staples out of classroom situations? Must have done that a million times and now hear that this can cause trouble many years later. Neighbours husband went to support group at hospital and encountered a teacher and other women. Has anyone got info on this? Getting a little worried about this. Hope someone can put this into perspective. Also concerned about children.

Maybe post this over in The Staffroom where the teachers tend to post. More will see it there.

click here

Thank you Tarquin. Have just done so. Thanks for the link.

Hi happy, I would be very surprised if you got any significant exposure in this manner first of all, asbestos sheets used as building materials tend to be very rigid and stable so wouldn't be easiy pinned into, if that makes sense! More dangerous is the loose type of asbestos used as pipe lagging or insulation, although you can find it anywhere in old buildings and any amount of exposure to asbestos fiber could cause problems but as long as the asbestos is intact it is no problem whatsoever ie, you can be in a room with walls made of asbestos for years on end and it's absolutely not a hazard but if you hammer into it and happen to breath the fibers through dust it could cause mesothelioma many years later. If you're concerned about a building you are in, especially if it's a LEA school, they should maintain an asbestos risk register and document all asbestos in the building and how they've made it safe... apologies, that turned into a bit of an essay! But mainly, don't worry, if you're pinning into boards they probably do not contain asbestos. And I am not an authority on it, just know where to look out for it in older buildings.

Hello,
The above poster is 'spot on', it's only really a risk when it was loose and employees unknowingly ripped walls down etc years ago.
Try not to worry you will be fine.

Thank you both so much. That is reassuring. I have been having a major panic as I was always stapling, pinning and worse pulling staples out on a regular basis. I was also standing on stools and pushing up tiles so I could hang children's work across classroom. We also had heating that blew out from boilers situated in a wall behind my desk and where the children sat on the carpet. This was between 1975 and 1990 when I changed schools and later went part time when the mounting was far less and conventional heating. There was a solicitor at this support meeting and my neighbour said as it took thirty or more years to manifest itself and was a time bomb! She said most there were women. As I see her poor husband's deteriation and distress on a daily basis and lost another friend at an early age with fibrosis of the lung only a few months ago I felt especially panicked. So thank you for your help.

FabUlouse,
I speak from experience not guesswork, I deal with these claims on behalf of the local authority.
The risk to the OP is minimal in the grand scheme of things.

Thank you for these postings. It has helped greatly to understand and put things into perspective.

This is on BBC Breakfast this morning.

Most councils do surveys of their schools and you should be able to find an asbestos policy somewhere.