• Click HERE to view the full table of schools containing asbestos.

ASBESTOS is lurking in about 70 per cent of Swindon’s schools, including classrooms, halls, toilets and changing rooms.

Latest figures reveal that the potentially hazardous substance is present at 54 schools in the borough.

Swindon Council says there are tight controls and regular inspections to ensure all asbestos stays safe and manageable.

However, a local lawyer claims the material should be removed, claiming that any amount of exposure could cause fatal cancer.

Asbestos was once used widely as insulation in construction.

However, exposure to asbestos dust can cause cancers, such as asbestosis and the fatal mesothelioma.

The use of such products was completely banned in 1999.

The figures from Swindon Council show that 39 schools contain asbestos in their teaching areas.

A total of 19 have asbestos in halls and 24 have the substance in wet areas, which include toilets, changing rooms and showers.

Meanwhile, asbestos is lurking in staff-only areas at 36 schools and in the circulation areas at 15. Among the parts of the schools which contain asbestos are floors, walls, ceilings, window sills, voids, pipes, roof coverings and downpipes.

The schools with the most effected areas are Dorcan, Churchfields, Warneford, Kingsdown and The Ridgeway.

Swindon Council claims a further 25 schools are unlikely to contain asbestos – 19 were completed after its use was banned and surveys detected no asbestos at a further six.

However, the authority claims it is impossible to guarantee that any premises are asbestos free because only visible suspect material was tested to avoid unnecessary damage.

The council claims that there are no records of children being exposed to asbestos above permitted levels while at Swindon schools.

Council spokesman Richard Freeman said: “As we have repeatedly pointed out, asbestos in buildings is not in any way dangerous if it is managed properly.

“And the council has very strong measures in place to make sure it poses no risk to anyone in the borough’s schools, whether they be pupils, staff or visitors.

“Asbestos is present in huge numbers of buildings right across the country, including homes, offices and shops.

“The clear advice from the Health and Safety Executive s not to remove it, but to leave it in place and undisturbed.

“Within the past year the HSE, in conjunction with the then Department For Children, Schools and Families, assessed the asbestos management arrangements at all 152 education authorities which have certain types of schools where asbestos was used in their construction.

“Swindon Council was among the 107 of those authorities whose management of asbestos in these premises was judged to be entirely satisfactory, requiring no further advice or action from the HSE.”

A Swindon Council spokesman said Swindon Academy contains some asbestos, even though it was completed after the ban, because the material was present in the old Pinehurst Primary School, which became part of the new academy.

Solicitor Brigitte Chandler, of Charles Lucas and Marshall, who has fought cases on behalf of Swindon families affected by asbestos-related diseases, was not surprised by the level of asbestos in local schools.

She said: “I was aware it was a major problem nationally that many of the schools have asbestos because it was a common material used in building and it hasn’t been taken out, presumably because of cost.

“The doctors say that there is no really safe exposure to asbestos and they are discovering now that even a very small amount of asbestos can cause cancer.

“It would be best if it was taken out of schools because there’s always a risk of exposure while it’s still there.

“Generally, it should be removed if possible because there is no safe exposure to asbestos, and particularly when you are considering children and teachers, they should be able to go to school and be completely safe.”

Ms Chandler said that there had been several cases where both former pupils and staff had successfully sued local authorities over exposure to asbestos at schools.

  • Click HERE to view the full table of schools containing asbestos.