Arson with asbestos on A7 ‘serious crime’ and ‘extremely stupid and antisocial’

The fire was reported to the police at the entrance to the highway around 4:30 this morning. Like yesterday and today in other parts of the country, this is part of farmers’ protests against the nitrogen plans.

Life-threatening road situation

There is a lot of smoke around the highway. “That caused a dangerous situation, so the fire service asked if we wanted to close the road in both directions to prevent accidents. And so we did that right away,” said the spokesperson for Rijkswaterstaat.

Accidents with obstacles like in the Groningen Midwolde Fortunately, they don’t happen, but could have happened here too. Rijkswaterstaat: “It is life-threatening. That is why we again make the appeal: don’t do this for road safety reasons.”

Spreading asbestos

The incident is not only dangerous for traffic on the road, but also for health. Asbestos liability expert Yvonne Waterman argues: “Asbestos is a fibrous, carcinogenic substance, it is forbidden to process it. When you set it on fire, you actually pop it. When heated, it expands and shooting in all directions, that is simply editing.”

It is easy to imagine that the asbestos fibers will spread further as a result and there is therefore a greater chance that people will breathe it in. “Think of the remediators, the firefighters, the local residents, they are all unnecessarily exposed to this risk. Setting asbestos on fire is incredibly stupid and antisocial,” says Waterman.

Text continues.

How harmful the inhalation of asbestos fibers is to health is only noticeable after decades. “Whether someone gets sick from it depends on the dose and on several aspects of the individual: for example, the age and condition of the lungs,” says Waterman. “But what does stand out is that inhaling asbestos is completely undesirable and you really should avoid it.”

She therefore finds the dumping ‘very bad’. “You should just leave carcinogens alone, not drag and carry them, and certainly not set them on fire.”

Serious crime

The police have launched an investigation into the perpetrators and are calling on witnesses to come forward. There are no cameras in the vicinity of the highway, but a spokesperson does not want to say whether the police have any further leads.

They do, however, call ‘deliberately destroying, blocking or rendering useless the road’ a serious crime. In addition, according to the Criminal Code, it is prohibited to distribute hazardous substances. The action could result in a prison sentence of several years.

An information officer from the North Holland North Safety Region does not want to take a position on the incident. The fire brigade was only involved in the extinguishing and Rijkswaterstaat is responsible for clearing the asbestos. “It’s a sensitive subject, but this is not the right way to campaign.”