Asbestos News

Four camphor laurel trees at the Tewantin State School in Australia were recently removed after asbestos was found in the soil by the roots.

The removal comes only a few weeks after the Education Ministry in Queensland confirmed that asbestos had been found in school sandpits four times in the past year, according to the Sunshine Coast Daily.

However cutting down the trees has upset some residents of the area, since the trees have become part of the landscape of the area.

"Those trees have been there for 50 of 60 years providing shade," David Thompson, long-term resident of the area, told the news source. "I have more asbestos in my left leg than those trees did. Cutting them down is nonsense - they have been massacred. Where camphor laurels have been removed in the past, vines and weeds have grown in their place."

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was used as a building material up until the 1960s, because of its fire-resistant and insulating properties. However, inhalation of asbestos fibers can lead to the development of mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer, according to the World Health Organization.