MEASURES aimed at preventing pupils and teachers being exposed to white asbestos are being demanded by the country's biggest teaching union, writes Carlos Alba, Education Correspondent.
The Educational Institute of Scotland has written to public health watchdogs urging them to ensure that local authorities carry out a survey of school buildings before repairs are carried out. It also wants councils to use safer alternatives to white asbestos and to bring permitted levels into line with other European countries.
The Health and Safety Commission has launched a consultation aimed at modernising asbestos regulations and workplace codes of practice, last updated in 1987.
More than 300 people in Glasgow alone die of asbestos-related diseases every year. Just one fibre in the lungs can bring about a painful death - often years after the victim is exposed to the dust.
Of the three main types of asbestos - the others being blue and brown - white is the least harmful, but is most likely to be found as insulation in old schools.
The EIS fears proposed regulations do not go far enough. As well as an immediate ban, it wants controls for white asbestos reduced to 0.1 fibre per ml - the maximum limit allowed by the EU.
EIS assistant secretary Ken Wimbor said: ''It is essential that the regulatory framework provides as much protection as possible, particularly when this protection applies to our young people.''
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