Asbestos dumped in GP practice car park (From Streatham Guardian)

Asbestos dumped in Rowans GP Surgery car park in Streatham

2:50pm Friday 26th October 2012 in News By Alice Foster, Reporter

Toxic asbestos was dumped in a GP practice car park putting both patients and doctors at risk.

The asbestos was dumped under cover of darkness last Friday at Rowans Surgery, in Windermere Road, Streatham.

It was forced to pay more than £1,000 to get a company to remove the large pile on Tuesday.

Practice business manager Chris Newman said CCTV caught a white transit van tipping asbestos near the path where patients walk.

Mr Newman said: "I’m very angry. It’s frustrating that of all the places to choose to dump it they chose a NHS surgery.

"We have ill people coming here who are already unwell and the last thing they need is for their health to be put at risk.

"It’s almost like kicking someone when they are down."

As the asbestos was dumped on private property the removal had to be paid from out of the surgery budget, which is devoted to care for patients.

Tony Whitston, coordinator at the Asbestos Victims Support Group, said he was appalled that fly tippers exposed patients to asbestos.

Mr Whitson said: "For anyone to dump asbestos or expose anyone to asbestos is absolutely outrageous."

He said that the UK was suffering worse than any other country from asbestos, which causes cancer, but did not believe in this case patients were put at serious risk because the pile had not been disturbed.

He said that the people who dumped it were at much greater risk from the toxic dust it would have stirred up.

Mr Whitson said: "I would like to reassure anyone that on this occasion and in these circumstances the risk was very low but the fact anyone was put at risk is outrageous."

Anyone with information should contact the Streatham Guardian on 020-8722-6337.