AN Eastfield parish councillor is calling for the Government to provide more funding to schools to tackle the problem of asbestos.
Cllr Graham Elliott said more and more teachers and pupils were being subjected to “life threatening respiratory health problems” due to the lack of funding.
He said: “We need to address the misery of asbestosis developed in the dark ages of indus
try. We are aware of the distressing and terrible terminal effects asbestosis has on human life, but we are fobbed off with excuses that if the asbestos has not been disturbed, there is no danger to teachers or students. I disagree.”
Asbestos has been found in several Scarborough schools including George Pindar Community Sports College, in Eastfield.
It was found in three classrooms at the college in 2007 which led to them being closed for three weeks while it was removed.
Monitoring is carried out by staff at all schools in Scarborough to ensure any asbestos is not damaged or disturbed, and further monitoring is then carried out by North Yorkshire County Council’s corporate property landlord unit.
All schools undergo an asbestos survey and headteachers have been given training in asbestos management.
A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council said: “Strict controls are placed on contractors during building works through an ‘authorisation to working site’ scheme to make sure that asbestos is not disturbed. When materials containing asbestos have to be worked upon, that work is carried out under strictly controlled conditions.
“North Yorkshire has a large amount of schools and many do contain asbestos. The presence of asbestos is not a cause for concern if it remains in a reasonable condition – as such it does not present a health risk to pupils and staff.
“If asbestos deteriorates then additional controls are put in place which include encapsulation and removal.
“The county council provides strong support to schools to ensure that asbestos is safely and effectively managed.”
