More and more teachers are developing mesothelioma, the deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure
Inhaling asbestos fibres, a building material found in schools across the country, can lead to the development of a silent but deadly illness. Asbestosis, the chronic lung condition which can develop from exposure to asbestos, carries with it a seriously high risk of developing mesothelioma or lung cancer, both of which are almost always fatal.
Exposure to asbestos can happen so easily. Despite estimations that around 70% of all UK schools contain asbestos in some form, (Hansard, 2008) UK government Health and Safety Executive statistics are no less shocking. Between 1980 and 2000, mesothelioma claimed the lives of 182 education system employees.
Primary school teacher killed by deadly asbestos exposure
In 2000, school teacher Gina Lees was diagnosed with mesothelioma, the tragic conclusion to a 20-year career teaching primary-age children in classrooms across Devon and Norfolk. In displaying her children’s work from the ceiling of the classrooms with drawing pins, Gina was unknowingly releasing deadly asbestos fibres to which her long-term exposure would eventually kill her. Lees’ sad story has attracted the attention of MPs and teaching unions in a campaign initially sparked by her husband to demand full asbestos audits for all UK schools.
Overlooked school asbestos risks claim another life
Carole Hagerdorn was diagnosed with asbestos-related mesothelioma in 2008 after 34 years working as a modern languages teacher in Essex secondary schools, a tragic addition to the hundreds of teachers who have contracted the illness. Her cancer is both incurable and inoperable, and life expectancy at diagnosis can range from six to eighteen months.
Like many asbestos-related illnesses, the mesothelioma cancer can lie dormant in the lung for up to 50 years before its symptoms are recognised, and a diagnosis can be reached. The period of latency the cancer carries has triggered fears for children who, despite their increased vulnerability to the illness, will still take 20-30 years to fully develop symptoms. Carole has voiced her concerns that by the time governments realise the effects of asbestos exposure to children, it will be too late.
Had her employer taken responsibility and managed the asbestos risk present in her school, Carole could have avoided the terrible consequences of years of unknowing exposure to the deadly fibres.