The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has reported the findings of a survey of its members which suggests that 44% of teachers are unaware of whether any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are at their workplace.
NUT estimates that ACMs are present in 86% of schools. Only one in six teachers who knew there were ACMs at their school had been shown an asbestos management plan. Worryingly, of those teachers who knew there was asbestos at their particular school, a third of them reported at least one incident where there could have been exposure to airborne fibres. The Union reports that 22 teachers died of asbestos-related disease in 2012 alone.