The removal of cancerous asbestos roofing across the country will proceed as planned, Nema has said.
There are a number of institutions still with asbestos roofing. They include hospitals, schools, government houses, among others.
Last year, the state gave a deadline of December for those still using asbestos roofing to remove and destroy them following the National Environment Management Authority recommendations.
Environment CS Aden Duale directed Nema to write to the institutions to dispose of the hazardous fibrous minerals.
Asbestos fibres may cause serious lung diseases including asbestosis and cancer. Smoking also increases the risk of developing illness from asbestos exposure.
Disease symptoms may take several years to develop following exposure.
Currently, the people most heavily exposed to asbestos are those in the construction sector and most occupational exposures occur during the repair, renovation, removal or maintenance of asbestos.
However, a number of institutions have not done so. Nema director for environmental compliance David Ongare said the removal of the material is ongoing despite a few challenges.
“The list is very long, because we are dealing with old houses, schools, hospitals across the country, and even in our industrial area here in Nairobi.”
Ongare said the authority has since developed a fact sheet on how to dispose asbestos following questions from Kenyans.
“We developed a fact sheet, which is on our website, it is based on the queries we were receiving from the public such as where do they take them once they remove, what is the procedure for removal, and so on and so forth,” Ongare said.
He said through the fact sheet, the authority has been in a position to answer a number of concerns.
Ongare said the exercise has received support from both devolved units as well as national government officials. He said a number of private entities have disposed of asbestos.
Ongare said those with asbestos had also raised concerns about the costs saying there are commercial entities charging for the disposal of asbestos at expensive rates.
He said concerns about budgets was also raised as some public institutions like schools did not have money to replace their roofs once they remove asbestos.
Further, asbestos can’t be removed when institutions are in session as it would lead to disruptions.
Ongare said they have a challenge with hospitals as most of the old hospitals, including their staff quarters, also have asbestos.
“The idea is to first manage the process together. Every entity that has a challenge, they raise those challenges, we assist them so that we have a compliance plan together.”
Ongare said some institutions have said they have deployed some technologies known as encapsulation. He said even though the timelines for the removal of asbestos was December, the authority has seen compliance among the private sector as they have resources.
Asbestos is a group of six fibrous minerals occurring naturally in metamorphic deposits worldwide.
In the 1960s and 1970s, asbestos was a material of choice in the construction industry.
Several facilities including food manufacturing industries and residential homes used asbestos roofing material due to its durability and fire resistance characteristics.
Asbestos fibres are strong and have properties that make them resistant to heat. Many other products contain asbestos.
Most of these materials are used in
buildings as roofing, soundproofing,
ceilings and tiles; as insulation
materials in boilers, steam pipes,
water heaters, brake linings, clutch
plates, and bonnet lining; and in
protective gears as fire-resistant
blankets, jackets and gloves.
