New Evidence Adds to Concerns of Widespread Asbestos Exposure in Schools

LONDON, March 2, 2010 - Shocking new data from a previously unpublished government report was
unveiled today by Clinica MedTech Intelligence, indicating that the problem
of asbestos exposure in schools is worse than previously publicised.

New evidence emerged last week of the suspected widespread failure of UK
schools to observe asbestos safety regulations, heightening concerns that
children, teachers and other staff are being exposed to the carcinogen. But
Clinica can also reveal, exclusively, that scientific calculations on
exposure levels in schools and other specific environments were omitted from
official guidance published 11 years ago.

An unpublished "final draft" of a Department of the Environment (DETR)
document, Asbestos and man-made mineral fibres in buildings, dated August
1998, obtained by Clinica, adds to mounting concerns about the safety of
children and those working in schools. A table of "lifetime" exposure
calculations and estimates of the impact of poorly maintained or
deteriorating asbestos-containing materials on contamination levels, was
omitted from the final published version of the guidance document dated
August 1999.

The table calculates that school-children will breathe three million
fibres during their 12-year schooling life, based on a level of 0.0005 fibres
per millilitre (f/ml) of air, as attributed to an interior environment with
asbestos materials in "good condition".

Of this "good condition" estimate, Michael Lees, a schools asbestos
safety campaigner, is scathing: "That might be the case in some schools, but
all the asbestos is now old and much is deteriorating," he told Clinica. "It
has been found that when you slam doors, hit the walls or sit on the window
sills, the levels can be up to 0.33 f/ml and 0.44 f/ml [660-880 times
higher]," he explained.

Even as far back as 1967, the government's advisory committee on asbestos
had warned the Department of Education of the general health risks posed by
low-level exposure, and that children are particularly at risk; it urged the
government to ensure the tightest controls.

For Mr Lees, the government has failed comprehensively in this regard:
"It could never admit the fact that just being in a school is killing
people," he told Clinica. "But it's the awful truth", he added.

The evidence that controls are failing in some schools is irrefutable,
but the concern is that they may actually be failing in many - if not most -
of the UK's 27,000 schools. Around 75% are currently thought to contain
asbestos, but only a national programme of surveys can properly determine the
exact extent of any problems, as the basis for actions to ensure that all
schools are made safe.

After dragging their feet, ostensibly over liability and compensation
policies, the UK government is, at last, in the throes of creating a National
Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases (NCARD). The growing evidence of
asbestos exposure - particularly to the most vulnerable members of our
society - means that asbestos disease research is now more important than
ever and will be for decades to come.

For the full story in Clinica MedTech Intelligence, please see:
www.clinica.co.uk

For further information, please contact: kirstin.stocker at informa.com
OR bernard.murphy at informa.com; Kirstin Stocker, +44(0)7716-756453.