Hundreds of pupils in Nelson Mandela Bay are being taught in dangerous classrooms due to toxic asbestos roofing – which can cause life-threatening forms of cancer.
With children spending years at schools with asbestos roofing, they run a risk of developing fatal diseases from exposure to dangerous fibres, according to an expert on the toxic mineral.
The problem came to light after the Bhisho High Court ordered the basic education department to speed up school improvements.
The July ruling stated that while there had been progress in recent years, many classrooms were still made of inappropriate materials such as asbestos and mud.The court ordered basic education minister Angie Motshekga to fix flaws in her department’s rules for infrastructure, after lobby group Equal Education successfully argued that loopholes enabled the government to shirk its duty to provide safe schools.
A reporter then visited 40 of the 348 schools in Nelson Mandela Bay – and found that 29 still had asbestos roofing.
At some – Zanolwazi High in Despatch, Emfuleni Primary in Zwide, Frank Joubert Primary in Schauderville and EZ Kabane in KwaDwesi – the asbestos roofing has started to crack and crumble.Tiny asbestos fibres – from damaged roofs – can get lodged in the lining of the lungs, where corrupt cells then cause the high-fatality cancer mesothelioma.
In 2004, asbestos-related mesothelioma resulted in 107,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.
And four years later, the use of asbestos was banned in SA by then-environmental affairs minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
Zanolwazi High deputy principal Luvuyo Jacobs said several sections of the school’s asbestos roofing were damaged. “The roof’s integrity has been compromised and this is a major concern,” he said.
“Pupils are possibly being exposed to harmful effects of asbestos on a daily basis.
“This needs to be addressed urgently.”
Molly Blackburn High deputy principal Zoleka Twashu said she was equally concerned for teachers.
“I have been at this school since 1995 and while it is of great concern that pupils are exposed to asbestos over their five-year high school career, it is even more concerning that teachers are exposed to the conditions for decades,” she said, adding that the roof appeared to be in good shape.
But she said she had probably been inhaling asbestos fibres for the past 23 years.
“And if I get sick during retirement, I won’t even be aware that it could have been as a result of the prolonged exposure to asbestos.”
University of Cape Town senior lecturer Dr Jim te Water Naude said asbestos was carcinogenic to humans and that was the biggest concern.
Te Water Naude is a public health medicine specialist who has researched TB, silicosis and asbestos-related disease.
“Asbestos causes all types of cancers but mainly in the chest,” he said.
“The incidence of asbestos caused cancers is low, but this is of little comfort to those affected as the treatment options are limited,” he said.
“British and US evidence has shown that the lifetime risk of mesothelioma is much greater if one has been exposed as a child.”Equal Education co-head Amanda Rinquest said while the revamp of hundreds of asbestos schools across the province would be a timely and expensive operation, it was a necessity.
“It is inhumane to continue to risk the health of pupils, teachers, school administrative staff and the school community by the continued exposure to asbestos.”
Rinquest said while Equal Education was sympathetic about budget shortfalls from the national Treasury to the basic education department, action was needed.
The education infrastructure grant and the accelerated schools infrastructure delivery initiative – also known as the schools infrastructure backlog grant – have both been cut. The infrastructure grant falls 1.3% from R10.046bn in 2017/2018 to R9.918bn in 2018/2019, while the backlog grant drops 9% from R1.452bn to R1.321bn over the same period.
“In a recent statement, the [department] said the estimated cost required R70.3bn to eliminate all school infrastructure backlogs over 12 years,” Rinquest said.
“But the question of whether they can meet the deadlines set out in the minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure is also a question of political will.
“If we can find money for the South African Airways bailout, we can find money for proper school infrastructure.”
The Bhisho ruling also declared the phrasing of the norms and standards, obliging the department to fix schools only made entirely of inappropriate materials, as inconsistent with the constitution.
The court ruling is the culmination of a sustained campaign by Equal Education to improve school infrastructure.In November 2013, the minister reached a court-sanctioned settlement with Equal Education and published legally binding norms and standards for school infrastructure.
These rules gave the government three years to replace unsafe structures and to ensure schools had appropriate sanitation, water and electricity.
The court upheld Equal Education’s argument that aspects of these rules allowed the state to indefinitely delay fixing problems in some schools, declaring them unconstitutional and invalid.
But EZ Kabane principal Shumani Mathige said he was highly sceptical that asbestos roofing would be replaced.
“How are they going to fix the roof when they can’t even fix toilets?” he said.
Port Elizabeth CBI Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers principal agent Francois Smit said as soon as asbestos fibres were disrupted it became harmful.
“The problem in the cities particularly is that the majority of the schools were built in the ’70s and ’80s when asbestos was very prominent.
“And while the material has settled, lack of maintenance up till now presents a health risk.”
Education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima did not respond to questions sent to him on Monday, after indicating on Wednesday, and then again on Thursday, that he would respond later in the day.ALSO READ