Asbestos found in Paris tower |
http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/03/15 18:19 Shanghai Daily |
Experts have discovered varying levels of cancer-causing asbestos on all 60 floors of Paris' Montparnasse Tower, one of Europe's tallest skyscrapers. Each year, some 600,000 tourists visit the tower for a panoramic view of Paris, and an estimated 5,000 people work in the building. News that the tower, which dominates the city's southern skyline, had asbestos hidden above false ceilings and, especially, in a shaft housing cables was revealed on Sunday by the weekly Journal du Dimanche. However, it was apparently an open secret for several years to those involved in the tower's management and experts who conducted risk studies. Four floors of the building containing technical facilities and closed to the public were rated "level three" risks for asbestos - the highest, according to Serge Jullineau, head of the inspection company Health Risks Agency which analyzed the tower's asbestos levels in the 1990s. Jullineau told yesterday's edition of Le Parisien that, as things stand, special protective measures are "indispensable" for 4,000 types of maintenance operations. Overall, the risks today are "minimal," Jullineau said, but likely to worsen in coming years. "At every maintenance operation or diverse work that requires moving the drop ceilings, there is a potential risk for occupants" on some floors, Jullineau said. (The Associated Press) |