Asbestos News
UK area sees one incident of illegal asbestos dumping per month
An area in the UK has seen a steady stream of illegal asbestos dumping incidents over the past year.According to the Knox Leader, there have been 12 reported incidents of asbestos fly tipping - British slang for illegal dumping - in the area over the past 12 months ending October 26.
Community services director Kerry Stubbings said that often times people choose to dump the naturally occurring substance illegally due to the fees associated with its proper disposal.
"As renovations and development in Knox has increased in recent years, so has the frequency of illegal dumping of asbestos," she told the news source.
Such incidents are highly dangerous as they can cause asbestos fibers to be airborne. The inhalation of these fibers has been proven for five decades to cause asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a rare and deadly cancer that typically attacks the thin membrane surrounding the lungs.
Some officials in Australia have suggested eliminating asbestos disposal fees to limit the amount of illegal asbestos dumping and thus reduce the chance of people coming in contact with the carcinogenic substance.
12/7/11
Related Articles
Utah building owners plead guilty to asbestos removal violations, Janet Hartung, 5/21/12
Maryland workers tasked with asbestos removal go on strike, Ariella Yu, 5/18/12
Roof replacement at Connecticut gym turns up asbestos, Ed Michler, 5/17/12
Australian factory fire prompts asbestos concerns, Ariella Yu, 5/16/12
Does anything other than asbestos exposure cause mesothelioma?, http://www.archivesofpathology.org/doi/full/10.5858/arpa.2011-0039-RA, 5/21/12
Asbestos concerns arise at eastern Australian transfer stations, Ed Michler, 5/14/12
'Take-home' asbestos exposure is every bit as serious, http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/asbestos, 5/16/12
Traces of asbestos force closure of Canadian high school, Janet Hartung, 5/10/12
Asbestos exposure causes not just mesothelioma, but also emotional strain, http://icoh.confex.com/icoh/2012/webprogram/Paper7297.html, 5/10/12
Asbestos discovered during construction of North Carolina natural gas complex, Ed Michler, 5/9/12