Asbestos: Your Right To Know

“All that matters is whether or not kids are breathing in asbestos and, until you find that out, everything else is hot air”

Professor Julian Peto, Head of Epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research in London – Education Select Committee

Right to Know: Asbestos in Schools Wales campaign, is calling for the creation of a central accessible database that registers asbestos in schools throughout Wales.

The purpose of the database, is to provide easily accessible information as to the presence of asbestos in all schools, for those working in schools together with parents and guardians.

The BBC Week in Week Out – “Inside the School Walls” programme stated that there are 1,514 schools in Wales containing asbestos.  In other words 85% of Welsh schools contain asbestos.

Asbestos is a hidden killer and we need to protect future generations from its harmful presence.

A central database is required so that here in Wales we can assess the extent of the asbestos issue in our schools, manage the asbestos and plan for the future. This is essential for our children, all those who work or visit our schools.

Currently, parents do not have the Right to Know if asbestos is present in their child’s school. In the age of freedom of information, and given the dangers related with asbestos, is this really acceptable?

The Right to Know campaign calls on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to put measures in place, to ensure that parents and guardians of children across Wales, can easily access information about the presence and management of asbestos in all school buildings.

The database should hold information on all school buildings in Wales, and anybody should be able to easily search and find out if asbestos is present in a school building. People should also be able to find out how the asbestos that is present, is being managed.

To ensure that you have the Right to Know all about asbestos in schools, please help us with this campaign by signing this petition on the website of the National Assembly of Wales.