November 12th, 2004

Following fears that asbestos debris and remains may be lying near to the Watooka Day Primary School in Linden, officials are preparing to start an investigation. A parent of one of the school children attending the school has already informed news reporters that the debris – including asbestos rubble and metal – poses a serious health risk to the children, staff and local residents.

The positioning of the debris means that any children that play in the area are at serious risk, but some of the rubble is also in the path of moving traffic, which runs over it and then leaves a trail of dust and creates airborne particles. The concerned parent has been to see the head of the school, taking a piece of what he thought was asbestos slate. The head proceeded to file a report, which was then sent to the Region Ten Education Department for further investigation.

However, an education official stated that no report had been received, and also stated that all asbestos had been cleared from the area. Another official told reporters that the administration was in discussions with the Parent Teachers Association with a view to clearing the site and making it safe for play for the children. This official also stated he was unaware of asbestos in the area, but that he would be initiating an investigation.

Further to this, yet another official from the engineering department told reporters that, following his immediate visit to investigate, he did find asbestos at the site.