ASBESTOS is lurking in 40 schools and 90 per cent of all council homes in Swindon, new figures show.
Another 200 properties owned by Swindon Council — including the Steam Museum — contain the substance, which can lead to fatal diseases if inhaled.
About 11,700 council homes contain asbestos in vinyl floor tiles, decorative finishings, garage roofs or other areas, according to Freedom of Information (FoI) statistics obtained by the Adver.
Last night Swindon Council revealed a range of measures it is using to manage asbestos, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stressed if properties containing asbestos were well maintained there should be no cause for concern.
However, the figures were described as disconcerting by the husband of a woman who died of an asbestos related condition.
Swindon Council’s cabinet member for housing, David Renard, said: “As a general rule asbestos is not dangerous if it is left alone. It is clearly something we take very seriously, and we manage it safely.
“There are clear guidelines on how to manage it.”
The Broadgreen Community Centre, Broome Manor Golf complex, the David Murray John Tower, the Link Centre, Kingsdown Crematorium, The Steam Museum and Wat Tyler House are a few of the buildings named by the council containing asbestos.
The schools named include Wroughton Junior and Infants schools, Drove Primary School and Rodbourne+Cheney+Primary">Rodbourne Cheney Primary School.
Working near damaged asbestos or breathing it in can cause related cancers, including fatal mesothelioma – dubbed the Swindon disease – and lung cancer, according to the HSE.
Four thousand people die from asbestos diseases every year.
Solicitor Brigitte Chandler, of Charles Lucas and Marshall, who has fought cases on behalf of families affected by asbestos-related diseases in Swindon is surprised by the level of the substance in town buildings.
She said: “If the asbestos is disturbed it can cause a major problem.
“It is a good idea to put asbestos warning stickers on surfaces to warn people. I was aware there is a great deal of asbestos in council houses because I have come across a number of staff who have worked in council houses and died. But I didn’t realise it was so high. People need to take care if they are thinking of doing DIY. Asbestos doesn’t look any different to other dust. If people don’t know what it is, they may not take precautions.
“Deaths are due to rise in the next 11 years because of the vast amount of asbestos used in buildings in the 1960s and 1970. It has left a lethal legacy.”
Dick Mattick, branch secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said: “Asbestos in schools is something the union is anxious to keep tabs on.
“When building work is taking place, you don’t know what is going to turn up.”
John Peters, of Greenmeadow, lost his wife Anita to pleural mesothelioma in April. Wiltshire Coroner David Ridley said Mrs Peters was likely to have been exposed to her father’s asbestos-contaminated overalls as a child.
Mr Peters said he found the number of council-owned properties with asbestos worrying.
He said: “I am 67 so I have lived through all the trouble with asbestos. It must be everywhere in the buildings.
“It is too late for me but it is disconcerting for my grandchildren.”
School buildings containing asbestos
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