Asbestos News

A tornado can damage a community in a number of ways, tearing up houses, knocking down powerlines and contaminating the water supply. These dangers are obvious, but one that is not so prominent is the asbestos that can spread when buildings are torn asunder and the wind blows the dust throughout the area. One Australian town is currently dealing with such a danger.

On Thursday, a tornado hit the town of Lennox Head, on the northern coast of New South Wales.

"I watched it off the beach...it roared up here like a heavy wind storm," a resident told News Limited.

The town is racing to clean up the asbestos spread by the tornado before another predicted storm hits, according to the Gold Coast News. The streets of the town have been closed while workers in full body chemical suits scramble to clean up the asbestos sheeting that the storm tore from rooftops.

Emergency workers told the Northern Star that their biggest concern is to remove the asbestos before it dries into dust form and gets spread even farther throughout the area. Inhalation of such dust can cause a number of deadly diseases, like malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.