Teachers who have been striking over health fears at a “blue water” school campus in Lanarkshire will return to work on Friday.
Trade union NASUWT said its 36 members will resume teaching at Buchanan and St Ambrose high schools in Coatbridge following guidance from its own advisors that it was safe to do so.
The campus, built on a former landfill site where domestic refuse, sewage, and industrial waste was dumped in the past, had been at the centre of claims that staff and pupils were becoming sick as a result of exposure to toxins.
Three teachers have developed bladder cancer since it opened in 2012 and another two teachers fell ill with two different types of cancer.
READ MORE: Cancer-causing chemicals found in grounds at 'blue water' school
In September 2018, NASUWT questioned whether blue water flowing from the taps - caused by copper contamination from pipes - could be linked to a case of bladder cancer in one its members.
Two children have since tested positive for elevated levels of arsenic in their urine, including one 13-year-old autistic boy who went blind.
However, an independent review concluded that there was no evidence from air, soil and water quality sampling that there was any link between the schools and the cancer cases, and that there was also an “alternative clinical explanation” for the boy’s vision loss.
It stressed that copper is not carcinogenic and that arsenic levels were well within safe thresholds.
The teachers began their industrial action on Monday, the first day of work for staff following the summer holidays.
READ MORE: Blue water school review should debunk the scare stories - but it probably won't
Most pupils at the schools returned for lessons yesterday, although North Lanarkshire Council confirmed that a “very small number” of children with additional support needs, who attend Buchanan High, had been unable to attend the start of term following individual risk assessments.
Although the review stressed that the school building and the site were safe, it recommended remedial action to eradicate a patch of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which had been detected on the outskirts of the campus during soil sampling.
PCBs are industrial chemicals known to cause cancer. Dr Margaret Hannah, the public health consultant who led the review, stressed that there was no danger to staff or pupils as the PCBs were underground and would only pose a cancer risk through long-term daily exposure.
However, she advised that the affected soil should be removed “as soon as possible” as a precaution. The council said it would do so.
Chris Keates, NASUWT acting general secretary, said: “It is reassuring that our experts believe that the remedial action that has been taken has now made it safe for our members to return to work.
“However, there are still a number of important issues which need to be addressed.
“The ongoing health issues being experienced by some of our members, including those diagnosed with bladder cancer, remain of deep concern.”
READ MORE: Warning over back-to-school spike in asthma attacks
The union claimed another of its members tested positive for elevated levels of arsenic this week.
Ms Keates said the union’s industrial action ballot will not be withdrawn until there is confidence that all of the review recommendations are implemented fully.
NASUWT also wants a series of air, water and gas membrane test results that confirm that there is no deterioration of the position.
Ms Keates will be meeting the council next week for further discussions.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel