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.

The old saleyards in Bathurst, NSW, have finally been cleared of asbestos and are ready to be put to new use.

After being used for livestock markets for 120 years, the properties have taken three years to clean up, after being found to have low level contamination from septic tanks in 2010 and then found to have asbestos in the cement sheeting last year.

The asbestos, which is a known carcinogen and can cause asbestos related diseases such as asbestosis and the malignant pleural mesothelioma, has been since removed, and an environmental hygienist has given the NSW site the all-clear for future commercial use, according to the ABC.

Bathurst Regional Council, which is just three hours from Sydney in NSW, will decide how the old saleyards will be used and release a recommendation report over the next few months.

Asbestos has caused many problems in New South Wales. Many reported cases of mesothelioma in NSW have been made for decades. This is as a result of the legacy of so much asbestos being used in Sydney and in regional areas up until the mid 1980s.

Australia still has a long way to go before it’s asbestos-free, with asbestos being found consistently across the country. Only last week, locals in Sorell, Tasmania experienced a panic when large amounts of asbestos were found in the foundations of a girl’s guide hall.

The hall, which was demolished to build new council chambers, contained asbestos that was undetected during the demolition, and is currently under investigation by Workplace Standards Tasmania as a result.

The ABC reported that locals who lived at the Tasmanian property are considering moving away for fear of being exposed to the toxic asbestos and developing an asbestos related illness such as asbestosis or the cancer mesothelioma.

While the hall was cleared for asbestos when it was erected in 1973, asbestos was contained below the ground, and was only disturbed during the demolition.

According to the ABC, the Asbestos Free Tasmania Foundation said that this experience shows that asbestos removalists and environmental hygienists need to check below and around buildings for asbestos, rather than just inside them. Mesothelioma in Tasmania is a problem, just like in other Australian states. Australia has one of the highest rates of malignant mesothelioma in the world on a per capita basis.

Despite a ban and decline of asbestos use and distribution, the dangers and consequences associated with asbestos have not been left in Australia’s past. The Australian Mesothelioma Registry’s (AMR) first annual report has confirmed this showing that new cases of mesothelioma are developing all throughout Australia.

Australia is feeling the consequences of asbestos exposure very severely as the report revealed Australia as having one of the highest incidence rates of mesothelioma in the world. The number of new cases of mesothelioma in the last 10 years has been subject to fluctuation with a decline occurring from 2003 to 2006, only to see the numbers rise again in 2007.

In 2007 the number of new mesothelioma cases recorded by Safe Work Australia was 668, the AMR 2011 annual report showed this number to have increased once again. The registry recorded 842 new cases of mesothelioma between July 2010 and December 2011. However the actual number of new mesothelioma cases could exceed this figure as not all cases are reported to the Registry.

Mesothelioma is a serious problem for Australia not just because of the seriousness of the disease, but because experts have predicted that the number of new cases and deaths is likely to continue to rise. This rise can be linked to a rise in the number of people undertaking home renovations which the report revealed to be the most common circumstance of non-occupational exposure to asbestos. Hopefully the Government’s effort to make Australia asbestos free by the year 2030 will reduce the rise of new mesothelioma cases and help win the fight against this heartbreaking disease.

Another gauge on the numbers of Australians being diagnosed with mesothelioma is to look at the number of mesothelioma compensation claims in Australia. In NSW, mesothelioma compensation claims are brought in the Dust Diseases Tribunal of New South Wales. For mesothelioma claims in Victoria, the Supreme Court of Victoria is the relevant Court. For mesothelioma compensation claims in South Australia, such asbestos claims are commenced in the District Court of Australia located in Adelaide.