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Asbestos Still Being Sold Despite Ban

DUBAI - Potentially carcinogenic asbestos building materials are still being sold on the black market, despite a government ban, experts have warned.

Between 70-90 per cent of homes in Dubai contain some asbestos, which can cause cancer when particles are inhaled, according to two demolition industry managers charged with asbestos removal.

Ed Ferrero, senior manager at GTS Holdings in Dubai, said that building sheets containing asbestos were still available in some areas of the country.

“We were involved in a major project in a cargo area of Port Rashid last year which required the removal of 600,000 tonnes of asbestos,” he said.

“During the project we had everyday people approaching us asking if they could buy the asbestos sheets that we were removing. I was horrified.”

Hamdan Al Shaer, Head of the Environment Department at Dubai Municipality, said that he was not aware of anyone selling asbestos on the black market, but stressed that it was illegal. “Asbestos sheets are no longer allowed to be sold,” he said.

However, industry sources say that several small “back-street traders” in the Deira and Satwa areas of Dubai still sell asbestos sheets.

In 2006, the UAE Cabinet issued a law stating that sheets of asbestos, which has fire-resistant properties, could no longer be sold.

In addition, the law states that a survey needs to be conducted before demolition to see whether there is any asbestos in the building. If any is found, it must be removed and disposed of an approved way.

However, in some cases, asbestos can remain in a building if a survey is carried out by someone who does not have proper training. The issue becomes a problem once demolition begins.

Using the traditional demolition technique of a ball and crane was inappropriate, Ferrero said. “This causes massive amounts of asbestos dust to explode in the air and cover nearby communities. There are many cases where residents have complained because of worries over health.”

Asbestos fibres are normally only harmful when they are stirred up in dust form, for instance at the time of demolition.

In the United Kingdom, some 5,000 workers die every year through illnesses linked to asbestos exposure, according to the Health and Safety Executive.

Dubai Municipality has also introduced a local law where officials can check whether a survey and removal has been carried out before granting a demolition permit.

Companies in the UK require a ‘Hazardous Waste Carriers’ license before they can carry out asbestos removal. Ferrero said no formal certificates is required in the UAE and many demolition companies here simply did the survey and removal themselves.

“We carry the formal qualifications from the UK and we were registered with the Dubai Municipality on those grounds,” said Chris Ferguson, technical director at Angus Asbestos Removal. “However, a lot of those who have also been registered do not carry the same qualifications.”

Despite the Cabinet ban against asbestos building sheets, several other asbestos products, such as water pipes, have remained legal to sell and use in building.

In the UK, asbestos sheets were banned as early as 1970 but asbestos pipes were banned only in 2000.

According to Ferguson, asbestos can be found in other products such as floor tiles and decorative wallpaper. “The absolute majority of homes in Dubai have some form of asbestos in them,” he said.

Since asbestos is a cheap building alternative, it is typically more often found in low-cost accommodation rather than large villas, he said.

martin@khaleejtimes.com