time came to have its supply of asbestos removed.

And Geoffrey Cox told Bermudians not to fear the killer substance which provoked an "emotional'' response whenever it was mentioned.

"Yes, be careful around it, but don't be terrified of it,'' he said.

Mr. Cox said he had worked around the substance for many years and it came in different forms with some being more hazardous than others.

For example the Canadian type -- "chrysotile'' -- was probably the least harmful while South African and Rhodesian forms seemed to cause more health problems.

Government had to consider this while planning the route it would take to deal with 165 containers of asbestos which were stored at the east end, he said.

"Asbestos removal is a very affluent business,'' said Mr. Cox.

It did not require much in the way of special equipment or particularly special "know how'' but "people in the business know how to charge'', he continued.

High expense might not be necessary if the asbestos was not particularly dangerous, he revealed.

The asbestos on the Island should be carefully analysed first, he said, to determine what type it was.

Certain types had been proven not to cause any harm to people who had been in close proximity to it for up to 40 years, he added.

"These people pretty much lived in the stuff,'' he said. Mr. Cox noted that most of the risk of health problems from asbestos came in the substance's manufacture.