Asbestos News

Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton will not be able to move into their new residence for two years in part because of the need for asbestos removal.

According to the UK Press Association, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will move into an apartment in London's Kensington Palace.

The move is a sign of the recently married couple's growing independence as they move into the home that was first used as a royal residence in 1689, according to the news provider. During that year King William III and Queen Mary II bought the structure that would eventually be remodeled into Kensington Palace.

However, this burgeoning independence will have to wait while large amounts of asbestos are removed. Many older buildings contain asbestos, but the naturally occurring mineral can cause a range of serious illnesses such as asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a rare and deadly cancer that attacks the thin membrane that lines the abdomen, chest and a number of the body's internal organs.

According to the UK newspaper the Mirror, a person dies from malignant mesothelioma every five hours in Britain.