Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
Kuna mpango wa kuuza mabati.
In Kenya, while asbestos roofing was once common, its use has been banned, and the country is grappling with the safe disposal and management of existing asbestos roofing materials, which pose health risks if disturbed. (AI find)
Asbestos roofing, which is really cement held together by asbestos fiber, was the preferred roofing material for schools, hospitals and health centers, government offices and staff housing up to the 1980s. In spite of this, Kenya has used relatively little quantities of the roofing when you compare it to heavy users like USA and Europe.
Available literature shows the greatest risk of asbestos poisoning is during the mining and processing in factories when disturbance causes the release of asbestos fibres into the atmosphere where workers and those living in the neighborhood breathe them in.
Asbestos ore before it is processed. The disturbance during mining and processing releases dangerous fibres into the air.
I cannot find data to show that Kenya has a high incidence of mesothelioma, the main cancer caused by asbestos fibre exposure (usually by breathing) in spite of the fact that a lot of us attended schools and colleges roofed with asbestos tiles. I personally attended Nyandarua High and Homa Bay Schools whose classrooms and dorms had these roofs without ceilings for six years. I'd think this was enough time to get "poisoned". Some of those who went to these schools went on to work in District hospitals and health centres with the same roofs all their lives.
In Kenya, while asbestos roofing was once common, its use has been banned, and the country is grappling with the safe disposal and management of existing asbestos roofing materials, which pose health risks if disturbed. (AI find)
Asbestos roofing, which is really cement held together by asbestos fiber, was the preferred roofing material for schools, hospitals and health centers, government offices and staff housing up to the 1980s. In spite of this, Kenya has used relatively little quantities of the roofing when you compare it to heavy users like USA and Europe.
Available literature shows the greatest risk of asbestos poisoning is during the mining and processing in factories when disturbance causes the release of asbestos fibres into the atmosphere where workers and those living in the neighborhood breathe them in.
Asbestos ore before it is processed. The disturbance during mining and processing releases dangerous fibres into the air.
I cannot find data to show that Kenya has a high incidence of mesothelioma, the main cancer caused by asbestos fibre exposure (usually by breathing) in spite of the fact that a lot of us attended schools and colleges roofed with asbestos tiles. I personally attended Nyandarua High and Homa Bay Schools whose classrooms and dorms had these roofs without ceilings for six years. I'd think this was enough time to get "poisoned". Some of those who went to these schools went on to work in District hospitals and health centres with the same roofs all their lives.