Asbestos News

Students and staff at the Mareeba State High School in north Queensland, Australia, will reportedly be briefed on asbestos by a health adviser from Education Queensland (EQ), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports.

According to the news provider, EQ regional director Clive Dixon said that asbestos dust was discovered in offices and classrooms approximately two weeks ago after four of the school's buildings were vandalized.

Dixon said that the buildings had been cleaned and tested, but that the department wanted to ensure all students and staff members that the school was safe.

"We have the adviser from Education Queensland coming up today to the school to speak to the staff and speak to the principal and others so that they can issue advice around that," he said. "We are open and transparent about the issue that we have asbestos in many of our school buildings as there is in many public buildings."

It is important that asbestos is properly handled and removed as exposure to the carcinogenic material can cause a number of deadly diseases such as lung cancer, asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, a rare cancer that occurs in the tissues surrounding a majority of the body's internal organs.