Asbestos Threatens Survivors of Ugandan Fire
A fire that killed 18 students at the Budo Junior School in Uganda is now threatening the lives of those that survived.
According to an article in The Monitor, the school dormitory involved in the fire was thatched with asbestos sheeting. The damaged asbestos would have released airborne fibers, which could have been inhaled by students and others in the vicinity of the blaze. Concerned citizens who live near the school fear the fire may have compromised students’ future health and are demanding they be taken for laboratory tests to determine the amount of asbestos inhaled.
“It is not enough to say the children have survived the inferno today when a few years down the road they may die of secondary infections arising from the asbestos fibers they inhaled. But besides that, the school management should be held to answer why up to date they are still having asbestos roofed buildings, yet the material has been banned for years,” the article states.
“The government and the ministry of education are also liable for supervisory and administrative negligence. The ministry’s inspectorate unit should ensure that no school in the country remains roofed with asbestos sheets. It’s not just about the fire risk alone,” notes the editorial.
It won’t be known for years, however, whether the fire and the subsequent release of asbestos fibers have harmed the pupils, as it generally takes 20 to 50 years for diseases such as mesothelioma, an asbestos cancer, to develop. By that time, the cancer has reached its late stages and mesothelioma treatment offers little help.