Submarine asbestos cleanup could get pricey

The removal of carcinogenic asbestos from the Royal Navy submarines will be an expensive job. On its own, the cleanup of the submarine Zeeleeuw will be a million euros, the Defence Department said earlier in the week. In the coming years, three other submarines will be cleaned up in the same manner as the Zeeleeuw. The Defence does not yet know the total cost of the operation. The television program Brandpunt Reporter reported its own research in which it reveals that the staff of the Zeeleeuw had been exposed to asbestos found in the walls of the submarine for years. The dangerous asbestos fibres were also found between the wiring bundles of the boat. Defence denied that any passengers would have been exposed to asbestos fibres in the ventilation system, because the infection could only occur during a maintenance and removal of a heater. According to the report of an asbestos company, the removal of a heating element created a contamination in the air handling system in the past.