Tsunami survivors in Indonesia have burned five homes. After a government official promised that asbestos in the damaged homes would be removed, the government declared that asbestos was safe and would not be removed from homes. The government has launched a media campaign to support its position that asbestos is not a dangerous material. However, the science is crystal clear that inhaling asbestos fibers can cause serious disease like malignant mesothelioma and other respiratory disease. Disease generally develops decades after the initial asbestos exposure. The tsunami victims, afraid to move into the homes and risk exposure to asbestos, have destroyed those homes instead. Many people in Indonesia do not know of the dangers of asbestos exposure, and the asbestos industry is still growing there.
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