Asbestos is a frightening material. It has been proved to cause very serious, potentially lethal health problems among some of the people exposed to it. The word itself has become a very emotive one. Mere mention of its presence in a building can cause a panic.

The trouble is that asbestos is all around us, in many premises erected before its dangers came to be fully appreciated. And some of those premises are schools - among them Ryshworth Middle School at Crossflatts, where some parents are understood to have already removed their children prior to the school holidays pending an announcement of the results of a Health and Safety Executive inspection.

Despite the anxieties caused by the presence of asbestos, it is only really likely to be a risk is it is disturbed. For that reason there have to be very serious concerns about how the problem will be dealt with during the reorganisation of Bradford's schools, when many buildings will be knocked about to expand and adapt them to suit their new role.

The Council needs to build an "asbestos factor" into its redevelopment plans, including the cost of removing the materials at every available opportunity if a school is being altered in any way.

Meanwhile, it needs to do more to get the message across to parents that asbestos is harmless if left alone, and that the whereabouts of all the asbestos in all the district's schools is known so that every effort can be made never to disturb it.

There should then be no need to panic and keep children out of school, risking harm to their education.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.