Children’s Hospital Won’t Remove Asbestos
Article Added June 12th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
A children’s hospital is viewed as a place where people go to get better. But when small amounts of asbestos were detected in an Australian pediatric hospital, the board surprised all by refusing to clean out the ventilation system.
A pediatric hospital is where you would take a child that had been exposed to asbestos, not where you would expect children to receive that exposure. But one Melbourne Australia hospital has refused to clean up their ventilation system after asbestos was found in the administration area. According to the hospital, the amount of asbestos dust found on the administrator’s desk was well within safety limits and does not warrant a clean out.
Asbestos is being removed as part of a refurbishing effort at the hospital. But it has been put forward that the ventilation system needs to be flushed in order to complete the work correctly. The hospital feels that the cleaning would be impractical and expensive and is not needed since all old buildings will contain safe levels of asbestos. The clean out would require clearing the ward of patients, families and workers for an indefinite period of time, inconveniencing the staff and patients while costing quite a bit more than originally planned. The Union acknowledges that the level of asbestos is considered safe and will take no action at this time.
Article Added June 12th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
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