Asbestos Safe For Rainwater Harvesting

RESEARCHERS have said asbestos is not dangerous to human health if it is used to harvest rainwater for drinking, reports Gerald Tenywa.Terry Thomas of the University of Warwick Coventry, United Kingdom said worldwide studies on asbestos have indicated that it does not contaminate the water.However, he said Asbestos fibres produced when the asbestos sheets are damaged are toxic to human beings and wildlife.“The fibres are known to cause cancerous diseases,” he said adding that they should be handled properly during replacement.He was speaking at Fairway Hotel during a one-day workshop organised Uganda Rainwater Association (URWA). The UN recently outlawed asbestos as a roofing material because the fibres it produces are dangerous to the lungs when inhaled. Several schools and housing estates countrywide built about three decades back are roofed with asbestos.URWA chairperson Julianne Rugasira was present.Ends