Asbestos News

Residents of Sutton Gault, a small village near Ely, Cambridgeshire, in the UK are frustrated that a pile of illegally-dumped rubble has not been cleaned up. The trash contains asbestos, a mineral known to cause the lung disease asbestosis, and has been sitting in a nearby field for longer than six months, reports the Ely Weekly News.

According to the news source, the "East Cambs District Council and the Environment Agency cannot come to an agreement about whose responsibility it is," while both parties claim the pile in question is not the same one from November.

"Instead of arguing about whose responsibility it is to clear it away, why doesn’t whoever is responsible just own up and foot the bill?" villager Ruth Murrell said, quoted by the news source. Murrell's concerns are validated by the World Health Organization, which estimates that each year more than 107,000 people die from malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses.

The media outlet contacted the Environment Agency and found that the pile lies on the boundary line between city council and Environment Agency land. An agency spokesman told reporters that it would take responsibility for the cleanup, and would arrange for contractors to undertake the removal and abatement.