No more asbestos in schools; Eco-friendly material to be used in construction
View(s):Last week the Cabinet approved a proposal to refrain from using asbestos sheeting as roofing material for school buildings, to protect schoolchildren from the hazardous effects of the material.
Accordingly, all proposed school buildings and those under construction would instead use tiles and other eco-friendly material as roofing material for proposed constructions within schools.
The decision was taken after a proposal was put forward by the Environment Ministry, in view of WHO research that found out that asbestos roofing sheets could cause cancer.
The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) welcomed the move and said there were several schools in rural Sri Lanka that need renovation.
CTU Vice President Theeban Arokiyanathan said schools in the war torn areas of Vavuniya, Madhu, Manner and Mullaitivu need to be developed.
He also said most school buildings in those areas were dilapidated and had been temporarily overhauled with dry palm leaves or tin roofing.
Some schools had been rebuilt with private donations and funds from the Asian. Development Bank.
Meanwhile, the CTU also said schools in the estate sector also need to be looked at, as some of these schools had been built during the colonial era and had never been maintained properly.
The Government of early 2018 attempted to ban raw asbestos material imports into the country. But it had to retract its decision immediately, because Russia was the biggest exporter of asbestos into the country, and it retaliated by restricting imports of Sri Lankan tea. (CC)