A high school in the UK has been closed after high levels of airborne asbestos particles were identified in a structural report.
Over 900 students have been forced out of the Cwmcarn High School in Caerphilly county, which has been sealed shut with an estimated two-thirds of the school so contaminated with asbestos that it is inoperable.
The school was closed immediately after the discovery of asbestos presence, and health officials are analysing the reports, according to BBC News. The staff and students will be informed in due course when they can return to school safely.
Even a small amount of exposure to asbestos can have deadly results, as asbestos is a known carcinogen that can cause asbestos related diseases such as asbestosis and the cancer mesothelioma.
Australia currently has one of the highest incidences of mesothelioma despite the official ban of asbestos use Australia-wide in 2004. This is because Australia was the highest user of asbestos per capita between around 1950 and 1980.
As such, many Australian states including NSW, Victoria and South Australia have introduced legislation to assist those suffering asbestos conditions pursue an asbestos compensation claim, such as a mesothelioma compensation claim, in Australia.
Unfortunately, like elsewhere in the world, some Australian schools built prior to the mid 1980s contain asbestos.
