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| The former Tong High School in Bradford where Graham Butterfield taught before dying after being exposed to asbestos fibres. |
And a teaching union fears that with more schools moving out of local authority control to become academies, efforts to prevent staff and pupils from possible harm could be diluted.
The Council has stressed that it keeps a close watch on the management of asbestos in its school buildings, but the National Union of Teachers has warned that when schools become academies, there is a risk of losing track of that vital information.
The UK Asbestos Training Association has also stressed that it is essential that both school staff and any builders carrying out work on them make sure they know where asbestos is located. The association claims that 75 per cent of schools in the country still contain asbestos.
Asbestos is commonly found in ceiling tiles, heating systems and wall coverings and can become dangerous when it is damaged as potentially deadly fibres are then exposed.
A spokesman for UKATA said: "More than 140 teachers have died from mesothelioma (A cancer caused by asbestos exposure) in the last ten years, plus an unknown number of cleaners, dinner ladies and in some cases workers who have unwittingly taken on the job of removal without adequate training.
"Teachers need to think twice before fixing work to walls in such a way that would disturb asbestos and builders need to ensure they have the training and skills necessary to remove and dispose of the material safely."
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