Asbestos

House of Lords written question – answered at on 15 December 2009.

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Photo of Baroness Quin Baroness Quin Labour

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many teachers have contracted asbestos-related diseases.

Photo of Baroness Morgan of Drefelin Baroness Morgan of Drefelin Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Children, Young People and Families), Department for Children, Schools and Families, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Children, Schools and Families) (Children, Young People and Families)

Statistics for asbestos related diseases for specific occupational groups are not available.

However, HSE has published analyses of national mesothelioma deaths (one of the main and most serious asbestos related diseases) by last recorded occupation of the deceased. These statistics do not tell us about how many teachers have died from mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos in schools. They are limited because they are based on the last recorded occupation, which may not be the one in which asbestos exposure took place.

The statistics do show that teachers do not stand out as a high risk group: they are among a group of occupations with numbers of deaths from mesothelioma that are broadly in line with the average for all occupations.

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