Dangerous Blue Asbestos Dumped -- MesoLink.org -- 01-11-06

Large quantities of a particularly dangerous type of asbestos have been found dumped. The deadly blue asbestos was found in the Askar scrapyard area earlier this week according to a report published in the Gulf Daily News. Although all asbestos is dangerous as it is potentially lethal due to its carcinogenic properties, authorities state that this type of blue asbestos is particularly dangerous.

Southern Municipality acting director-general Atef Abdullatif stated that the blue asbestos that was dumped is such a dangerous type of asbestos that it has been banned on an international scale. He also added that officials had informed the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife. However, the Commission does not appear to have the resources or equipment to deal with removal of the dumped toxic waste.

A spokesman stated: "We have promised to provide them with trucks and they will be cleaning the place of this substance soon." Another official added that they had no idea where the asbestos was coming from. "We don't know who is dumping it," he said.

One official added that it was important for environmental authorities to quickly identify the source in order to resolve the problem. He stated: "This substance is dangerous and we don't want people to die, because some government organization doesn't want to tell Bahrainis that such substance is being dumped in front of them."