The Opposition's new environment spokesman has promised a Green Government should the PLP win power.

And Ottiwell Simmons said his first target would be to rid Bermuda of thousands of tonnes of asbestos.

Environment Minister Harry Soares said the 525 containers full of asbestos would be on the Island "for years''.

He said the cancer-causing dust was safely packaged and could not be dumped at sea.

But Mr. Simmons said a Progressive Labour Party government would make it a priority to ship the asbestos overseas.

Retiring Mr. Soares said Government had decided against that option in case Bermuda was held responsible for any mishaps.

But his new shadow minister said: "Bermuda needs to be exporting this asbestos to other countries who offer to deal with it, as long as they can deal with it safely.

"We will also weigh in the legal ramifications and any risk of being sued in the future.

"But we will find a way to do away with it so that it will no longer be a threat to the life and the health of people in Bermuda. If there is a way, we will find it.'' Mr. Simmons adopted the environment portfolio following the death of Leon (Jimmy) Williams.

And he said Government "could be wasting millions'' by saving cash for an untested thermo-chemical plant which processed and changed the make-up of asbestos.

Mr. Soares said the plant, being developed in Washington State, would make the asbestos safe. But Mr. Simmons said Bermudians would first need to be convinced of the plant's effectiveness and safety record.

He added: "As we all know, asbestos is a very dangerous substance and a very slow killer.

"It shows no signs of its effect on the human body. I believe that there are sufficient ways of doing away with it that other countries in the world have discovered.

"Furthermore, we will make a deliberate search for more asbestos that may be lurking around the Island. Our objective is to rid Bermuda of asbestos -- period. We don't want to continue discovering it by accident.'' He agreed with Mr. Soares that the asbestos should not be dumped at sea. And Danny Farias, former adviser to Mr. Williams, said: "If we can strike a bargain with the Canadians or the Americans then that's what we should do.

"To be spending money on a plant that we don't even know is proven doesn't make too much sense.'' Mr. Soares said Government had rejected proposals to bury the asbestos at sea or underground in Bermuda. He said there were too many legal concerns connected with exporting the dust to foreign countries.

But he said Government had already sidelined $1 million and was saving more for the new processing plant, as long as it was successfully tested in the US first. The containers full of asbestos, at the Bailey's Bay quarry and the old US Navy base at Southside, St. David's, are constantly monitored by officials from the Environment Ministry.

And Premier Pamela Gordon and Finance Minister Grant Gibbons are in talks with the US Government about how to deal with the asbestos at Southside.

It is understood Bermuda wants the US to take responsibility for any asbestos left by the military.

ENVIRONMENT ENV