Fire in Kocani Photo: EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

The burnt-out Pulse disco released carcinogenic asbestos particles into the air

The incinerated Pulse discotheque has released carcinogenic asbestos particles. Those citizens of Kocani who were near the building, the teams that will participate in the removal of the remains of the building, the inspection teams and the people who managed to escape on the fateful night of March 16, must be examined regularly, appeal the doctors with whom "Sloboden Pechat" spoke. The material itself cannot burn or melt and is one of the most fireproof materials.

Fire in Kocani / EPA-EFE/GEORGI LICOVSKI

The problem arises when the asbestos that made up the roof and part of the structure in the makeshift Pulse building breaks down, as was the case with the burned-out unlicensed cabaret. Then the fibers that make up the asbestos are released into the air, but they cannot be seen with the naked eye. All six forms of asbestos are classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. Asbestos fibers from a collapsed, broken-down asbestos surface they can stay in the air for days before falling to the ground. They are so small and light that they can fly apart again with just movement. This is a very specific, sensitive material.

– In Australia, we screen everyone who has ever been in contact with asbestos during their employment. It is very dangerous. We must not force workers to work around asbestos that is already disintegrating, except with special protective suits – a manager-engineer, who has been working on construction projects in Australia for years, told Sloboden Pechat. 

 

She added that if asbestos is replaced with another material, everyone in the vicinity will breathe it in and therefore monitoring should be set up to measure the concentration for the safety of those removing it from the field. After use, workers' clothing is placed in special bags and must not be touched without special gloves. Once asbestos is suitable for removal, it should be removed with full protective equipment, with special gloves, and there should be a decontamination room. This is the case in Australia.

Photo: EPA-EFE / GEORGI LICOVSKI

Fire survivors should be examined regularly

 

Doctor Bojan Trajkovski tells "Sloboden Pechat" that it is impossible to say how much "pollution" the asbestos from "Pulse" caused, but that those people who were inside should be medically monitored in the long term, because if changes for the worse occur in them, then they would occur after a longer period of time.

-Asbestos is harmful to people who are exposed to it for a long time and then leads to mesothelioma, which is the most severe form of cancer of the lining of the lungs. The second disease it leads to is lung cancer. The third is asbestosis, which is the sticking together of the alveoli in the lungs and difficulty breathing. The exposure was short, but we cannot assess the amount of pollution that asbestos caused while people were inside - Dr. Trajkovski told us.

Trajkovski adds that in 2005, a ban on asbestos in construction was introduced throughout Europe, and then services began to be formed that remove and transport it from buildings. Their protection systems are the so-called hazmat systems. The doctor believes that after the fire, not all residents of Kocani could be in danger, but medical monitoring due to asbestos should only be for those present in "Pulse" on the critical night.

Fire in Kocani / Photo: Sloboden Pechat / Slobodan Djuric

Professor Dr. Meri Cvetkovska from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at UKIM from the Department of Mechanics and Materials told "Sloboden Pechat" that the allegations in the media that the asbestos burned are not true.

-It is toxic when it is decomposed. It is not a flammable covering, but belongs to the materials that are non-combustible, with a high class "a-1". It does not emit smoke and heat, but it can break from the heat, and when it breaks, the fibers that it will release when it decomposes are carcinogenic. There are special, specialized teams that have to take down the boards, transport them to special landfills. While it is in a solid and healthy board, asbestos is not a danger, but when it starts to crumble, those tiny fibers are dangerous and that is why it is transported in a specially arranged manner, with special trucks, with protective equipment - explained Professor Cvetkovska for "Sloboden Pechat".

In the country, there is a regulation on the minimum requirements for the safety and health of employees from the risks associated with exposure to asbestos at work. It is an old regulation, published in the Official Gazette back in 2009. The regulation requires employers not to expose employees to an airborne asbestos concentration greater than 0,1 fiber per cubic centimeter measured in relation to an eight-hour time-weighted average.

Experts who participate in the transportation of asbestos debris to various facilities, and with whom "Sloboden Pechat" spoke, appeal to the state to take the field cleanup seriously and to hire trained personnel.

-During transportation, asbestos sheets are placed on a pallet measuring 120 by 180. Construction companies dismantle the sheets, stack 20 or 30 of them, then they are necessarily covered with protective foil and tied to prevent dust from flying, and are taken to the Drisla landfill, which permanently buries them in serious excavations. That is the solution according to the law – the expert told us. 

Fire in Kocani/ Photo: "Free Press", Slobodan

Working with asbestos involves very strict rules that are listed in the regulation, among which the key is protective equipment. The Regulation on Working with Asbestos also emphasizes this. The Regulation states that employees and their representatives at the employer should have access to the results of measurements of asbestos concentration in the air and be able to obtain explanations for those results. If the results exceed the value of 0,1 fibers per cubic centimeter measured in relation to an eight-hour time-weighted average, then the affected employees and their representatives at the employer are consulted on the measures to be taken.

The asbestos regulations require health checks for people working with asbestos and the maintenance of individual health records for each worker. Records of time spent working in areas where asbestos is broken down are also kept, and protective measures are very strict.

 

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