By Matsidoso Selebeleng

Removing asbestos roofs at low-cost housing settlements such as Dark and Silver City in Bloemfontein and replacing them with more durable and safe roofing options would go a long way in protecting residents from fatal diseases.

Given the number of housing units that still have asbestos roofing in the Free State, the costs of replacing all roofs are considerably high. However, the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs department said it is focusing on high-risk areas despite the high costs.

“There are 36 000 housing units with hazardous roofed asbestos material. With the current cost structure to replace a single asbestos roof, the province will need around 4 billion rand.

“We only have R20 million rand to eradicate (all roofs) in all districts. With this amount, only 180 units (will get the roofs replaced) focusing on high-risk areas and the most vulnerable households.” The department added.

Many residents from various communities in the Free State have long been pleading with the provincial government to help them replace their roofs because it is now affecting their health.

One resident from Dark and Silver City, who requested to remain anonymous, told Journal News that he has been living in a house with asbestos roofs for over three decades.

“I’ve been living here for more than 30 years, with my two children now I have five, and they are adults now. It has not been nice and now that we know these roofs cause sicknesses and complications, we are scared for our lives every day we are old now, our bodies are weak, and we get sick easily,”

According to the Pulmonology department head at the University of Free State (UFS), Professor Shaun Maasdorp, asbestos fibres from asbestos roofs can penetrate deep into the lungs and possibly lead to a variety of chronic diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

“Asbestos fibres can penetrate deep into the lungs and even through the pleura, which is the lining around the lung. In doing such, asbestos fibres can cause asbestosis, which is fibrosis of the lungs where the lungs become stiff, and patients find it progressively more difficult to breathe as time goes on.

He continues: “Asbestos that penetrated the lining around the lung can lead to the accumulation of fluid in the pleural space outside of the lung, as well as thickening of the pleural membrane.”

Maasdorp revealed that most patients do not survive more than a year with mesothelioma and that they should look out for symptoms like shortness of breath that becomes progressively worse over time.

He added that some patients will experience persistent coughing, which typically would be a dry cough; but denied that asbestos roofing can cause tuberculosis as commonly believed.