National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has been petitioned to remove cancer-causing asbestos roofing from Olkiramatian Arid Zone Primary School in Magadi Ward, Kajiado County.
The petition from Maa Museum and Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (MMCIK) led by founder Lepantas Charles Leshore indicates that the cancer causing substance has been in the school for many years now and is causing inconvenience and poses health and environmental risk to learners, teachers and the community.
He noted that the students have a right of safe environment which is a constitutional right as stipulated under the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
The school has 14 buildings with roofs of asbestos materials that has huge health and environmental repercussions to the learners, teachers, support staffs and parents residing or visiting the school.
The school management had removed some of the materials in 2022-2023 and disposed some 480 kilometres away in the coast at a cost of more than KSh1 million.
The school head teacher one Mwende said removing asbestos is very expensive,a nd requires careful planning.
READ ALSO:
St Anthony’s Boys dethrone champions Musingu in fierce hockey clash in Machakos
That asbestos, the so-called magic mineral, was introduced into building materials over 100 years ago because of its insulation and fire-retardant properties. Its use in buildings peaked in 1975.
The Health and Safety Act takes precedence and recommended that the Government should establish a programme for the phased removal of asbestos from all schools, prioritising those schools where the asbestos is considered to be in the most dangerous condition such as those in Arid regions.
Asbestos was used to lag pipes and boilers, and used in walls and ceilings. But the mineral turned out to be a killer. Blue and brown asbestos were banned in the UK in 1984, and white asbestos was banned in 1999, while in Kenya it’s not being addressed as required due a number of factors.
According to National Cancer Institute (US), when tiny asbestos fibers are released into the air and breathed in, they may get trapped in the lungs and remain there for a long time.
Over time, accumulated asbestos fibers can cause tissue inflammation and scarring, which can affect breathing and lead to serious health problems.
Exposure to asbestos causes most mesotheliomas (a relatively rare cancer of the thin membranes that line the chest and abdomen), it can also cause cancers of the lung, larynx, and ovary.
By Obegi Malack
To write to us or offer feedback, you can reach us at: editor@educationnews.co.ke
You can also follow our social media pages on Twitter: Education News KE and Facebook: Education News Newspaper for timely updates.
>>> Click here to stay up-to-date with trending regional stories
