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France's tallest building is 'cancer trap'
Sydney Morning Herald ^ | March 15, 2005

Posted on 03/14/2005 7:12:17 AM PST by dead

France's tallest building, the Tower of Montparnasse in Paris, contains so much asbestos that it represents a cancer risk for employees and visitors, French media reported yesterday.

According to the daily Le Parisien, the legally required technical asbestos report just presented to the tenants of the 59-storey building by the company that manages it, Adyal-Cogetom, states that there are traces of the carcinogenic substance "almost everywhere", behind the false ceilings in most offices, in the corridors and in the basement.

In addition, the weekly Journal du Dimanche reported that, according to an initial analysis carried out in 1996-1997, all of the building's common spaces and its mechanical and supervisory offices were classified category three, the highest level of asbestos pollution.

In a letter written on February 11, the lawyer for the unions representing the building's employees, Anne Willie, said: "Measures of prevention must be taken urgently to ensure the safety of the maintenance workers and the site's tenants."

About 5000 people work in the 210m high building, which was constructed between 1969 and 1972, when there were no laws against the use of asbestos.

In addition, an estimated 600,000 tourists a year visit the building due to the panoramic view it provides of the French capital.

Experts say that to rid the building of asbestos would cost up to four million euro ($6.8 million) per storey and would require totally evacuating the structure for three years.

Carrying out the work by sections would take at least 10 years.

Asbestos was used in insulation in French construction until it was legally banned at the beginning of 1997.

A powerful carcinogenic, it is considered responsible for about 4000 deaths a year in France.

DPA


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
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1 posted on 03/14/2005 7:12:18 AM PST by dead
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To: dead

Is there any surprise here...the entire nation is symbolism over sustance....


2 posted on 03/14/2005 7:14:00 AM PST by standupfortruth
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To: dead

I wonder what has happened over the years to the occupants of this building? Any studies?


3 posted on 03/14/2005 7:14:01 AM PST by drc43 (We have 4 years left to get it right)
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To: dead
And the Pompidou Centre is considered ugly enough to render one blind:

No, that's the actual building, not the scaffolding.

Regards, Ivan

4 posted on 03/14/2005 7:14:08 AM PST by MadIvan (One blog to bring them all...and in the Darkness bind them: http://www.theringwraith.com/)
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To: MadIvan

Holy crap! It looks like it grates cheese.


5 posted on 03/14/2005 7:16:26 AM PST by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: dead

No comment, it would only show my lack of sympathy.


6 posted on 03/14/2005 7:16:43 AM PST by bmwcyle (Washington DC RINO Hunting Guide)
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To: dead

I assure you, it's not much better on the inside. When I first visited, I asked aloud when it was going to be finished.

Regards, Ivan


7 posted on 03/14/2005 7:17:48 AM PST by MadIvan (One blog to bring them all...and in the Darkness bind them: http://www.theringwraith.com/)
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To: MadIvan
That's still nicer than this POS that Paul Allen built at the foot of the Space Needle in Seattle.


8 posted on 03/14/2005 7:19:03 AM PST by Psycho_Bunny (“I know a great deal about the Middle East because I’ve been raising Arabian horses" Patrick Swazey)
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To: MadIvan
I think they made it out of K'Nex. Either that or the designer had a special relationship with a hamster...
9 posted on 03/14/2005 7:19:28 AM PST by SledgeCS (Can anyone that is not a Muslim, defend Islam without laughing or regretting it later???)
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To: dead

I hate to bring this up, but were there any substantive findings to the rumors of asbestos in the WTC?


10 posted on 03/14/2005 7:19:46 AM PST by MAEsser (The law is not about fairness, equality, or justice. It is about power.)
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To: dead
Oh, and did anyone else read that headline as "cancer crap?" /slightly lisdexic
11 posted on 03/14/2005 7:20:35 AM PST by MAEsser (The law is not about fairness, equality, or justice. It is about power.)
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To: Psycho_Bunny

That looks like a still life of crumpled balls of Christmas wrapping paper.

Regards, Ivan


12 posted on 03/14/2005 7:20:37 AM PST by MadIvan (One blog to bring them all...and in the Darkness bind them: http://www.theringwraith.com/)
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To: MAEsser
a blank post? I meant to write:

Oh, and did anyone else read that headline as "cancer crap?"
/slightly lisdexic
13 posted on 03/14/2005 7:22:07 AM PST by MAEsser (The law is not about fairness, equality, or justice. It is about power.)
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To: dead
If it's not friable it's not really an issue. People hear the word Asbestos and they jump out of their skin. I doubt this building has that much friable (easily carried and distributed in the air) asbestos. Most often it can be encapsulated to prevent it from getting into the air.

It use to crack me up when all the parents of New York City were up in arms over asbestos in the schools. They were protesting and calling for the administrators heads, then they would head home to their pre-60's constructed homes covered in asbestos shingling, asbestos flashing and mastic, asbestos ceiling tiles, pipe wrapping etc., and they didn't even know it. Not to mention the lead paint peeling off the walls.

14 posted on 03/14/2005 7:23:54 AM PST by NYCRebublican (No more Slimes)
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To: All

There goes France surrendering again.. to asbestos....


15 posted on 03/14/2005 7:24:50 AM PST by 1stFreedom (1)
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To: dead

Le Tour Montparnasse is also a horrible eyesore--the only modern skyscraper in an otherwise historic district.

Imagine the Trump Towers on Capitol Hill.

If they have to knock the damn thing down, all the better.


16 posted on 03/14/2005 7:25:24 AM PST by Petronski (If 'Judge' Greer can kill Terri, who will be next?)
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To: All

WTF!!! (What the fudge???)

(french accent) "huuuuhnn huuhhn le nice buildingz are tooooo Americanz.. Ve vill build le Ugly buildingz insteadz.."


17 posted on 03/14/2005 7:27:01 AM PST by 1stFreedom (1)
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To: MadIvan
And the Pompidou Centre is considered ugly enough to render one blind

True, but, after the extensive renovations, the interior is one of the most marvelous museums I have ever been in.

18 posted on 03/14/2005 7:30:09 AM PST by Bahbah
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To: Petronski
Very true. It definitely does not fit in the Paris skyline. However, in my opinion, it offers a far better view of the city than the Eiffel Tower. Highly recommended. (Plus, then you can actually get the Eiffel Tower in your pictures.)


19 posted on 03/14/2005 7:31:00 AM PST by July 4th (A vacant lot cancelled out my vote for Bush.)
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To: dead

I'm shocked...


20 posted on 03/14/2005 7:31:02 AM PST by nikos1121
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