MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / June 18, 2013) – Philippine schools continue to use the hazardous asbestos-laden wire gauze in Chemistry and Biology classes, putting students at risk of developing cancer, according to various labor groups.
The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) and Building and Wood Workers International said the Department of Education (DepEd) banned the use of those materials in November 2011 due to its cancer-causing minerals, but it is still being used up to now.
Asbestos is also banned in many countries.
“We found this out after a series of ocular visits in several schools following the opening of classes,” said Alan Tanjusay, advocacy officer of the ALU-TUCP.
The labor groups urged the DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education and schools to totally remove asbestos-laden wire gauze from campuses.
It said samples of wire gauze used by all schools and professional laboratories in the Philippines contain 3% Chrysotile asbestos.
The World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer affirmed that exposure to all asbestos products can cause cancers in the lungs, larynx, and the ovaries and other diseases.
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