'Keep asbestos off SA roads'
2003-09-19 17:58
Cape Town - Environmental group Earthlife Africa on Friday expressed concern about the transport of asbestos, following two accidents over the past week in which asbestos fibres were released into the air.
"South Africans who were exposed many years ago are only now getting compensation after a long legal battle. We don't want the same to happen again," the group's spokesperson Nosiphiwo Msithweni said in a statement.
She said asbestos material was highly toxic and could cause fatal diseases, such as asbestosis - a lung disease caused by breathing in invisible, needle-sharp asbestos fibres suspended in the air - and cancer.
"The material is coming from Zimbabwe and we understand it is en route to Durban. That is not acceptable. Earthlife Africa calls on the government to ban the transport of asbestos through South Africa."
She questioned why Zimbabwe was allowed to dump their toxic materials in South Africa, when the country did not tolerate first world countries doing the same.
The first incident was on Sunday where the asbestos dust occurred near Polokwane, and the second on Wednesday. In both instances trucks loaded with asbestos were involved in accidents.
Msithweni said Earthlife knew that major South African asbestos industry players were looking at alternative materials.
- SAPA