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The management of a school in Nanyuki plans to replace its asbestos roofing after a warning by an environmental agency.
Nanyuki High School's Board of Management chair Robert Mungai said the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) had alerted them of the hazards posed by the roofing material.
“We want to put a new roofing in the school and we are in engagement with Nema so that we are advised on how best to handle the asbestos roofs without causing any harm,” Mr Mungai said at the weekend when the school received a new bus.
Some offices, classes and teachers' quarters within the school have the asbestos roofs.
According to Nema, the asbestos roofs can cause cancer once they age. Local officials have warned that they should only be removed with their guidance.
“The sheets wear away naturally and since they date back many years to the colonial period, they now pose a health risk to the school,” said Laikipia Nema director Fanuel Mosago.
Mr Mosago said drinking water collected from the roofs could cause cancer as asbestos fibres accumulated in the body, adding that breathing in the fibres could also cause lung cancer.
“We are advising anyone else with asbestos roofing to remove them and seek guidance so that they don’t cause harm during disposal,” he said.
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