In 2022 MPs called for a 40-year deadline for all asbestos to be removed from public and commercial buildings.
Alan Lewis, a director at G&L consultancy in Northern Ireland, a company in Northern Ireland that provides asbestos management and removal services, said a lot of time and effort went into making asbestos removal safe.
“[We use] full enclosure air locks, negative pressure units, to keep the fibres within the area you’re working in and drawing them out safely,” he said.
“All asbestos waste needs to be packaged, labelled, taken from site and taken to the appropriate hazard waste disposal site.”
Reacting to the asbestos dumping figures he said: “Those numbers are high and I understand why people are concerned.
“When it comes to illegal dumping, you could have situations where asbestos is being transported and not contained properly, broken up on transit and dumped on the side of the road.”