Asbestos News

Following the discovery of asbestos at the UK's Fulham Library, health and safety officials are reportedly investigating whether or not a local council employed unlicensed workers to remove the material.

According to the Fulham Chronicle, the dangerous asbestos was discovered by library staff members behind a radiator while renovation work was being conducted. Officials with the Health and Safety Executive believe that unlicensed workers carried asbestos-containing materials through the public area of the library before discarding it in a back garden.

"This is not the first time that public authorities have faced these allegations and the matter of asbestos in public buildings such as schools and libraries is now high on the agenda to ensure we reduce the deaths caused by asbestos-related diseases," Margaret Sharkey of the London Hazards Center, told the news source.

The diseases Sharkey is referring to can include asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that attacks the tissues surrounding a majority of the body's internal organs. According to the Mirror, a UK newspaper, mesothelioma kills approximately one person every five hours in Britain.