Cabinet approves nationwide asbestos removal from all public, private buildings

The Cabinet has approved the nationwide asbestos removal initiative from all public and private facilities in a bid to enhance public health and safety.

The Cabinet, in a despatch released after a meeting chaired by President William Ruto on Tuesday, said the initiative will mitigate health risks associated with asbestos exposure.

“Asbestos, extensively used in Kenya’s construction industry in the 1960s and 1970s, remains in government buildings, hospitals, schools, and even water supply systems,” read the dispatch.

“Classified as a human carcinogen, asbestos exposure is linked to severe health conditions, including lung cancer and mesothelioma (a cancer that develops in the tissue lining of the lungs, abdomen and heart).”

The Cabinet further noted that the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) will oversee the safe removal, disposal, and handling of asbestos.

County governments were hence urged to establish designated disposal sites, with property owners set to bear the costs of removal under what the State terms as the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle.

The government went ahead to note that it anticipates that this initiative will reduce future disease burden, cut healthcare costs, and enhance environmental safety.

The Cabinet nod comes after Environment Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale last year noted that government and religious institutions as well as schools and hospitals lead in buildings still under asbestos roofing 18 years since it was banned in the country.

Duale said then that he had written to three ministries asking them to enforce the removal of the roofing that is said to be one of the main causes of lung cancer the country.