Guyana Water Inc (GWI) officials have concluded that the pieces of asbestos-bearing material, which were discovered close to the Lamaha Canal yesterday, would not affect water produced by the company.

GWI’s PRO Timothy Austin told Stabroek News that officials from the company visited the area yesterday and the company’s health and safety department has determined that the material was not a threat to the company’s water source.

He said the company contacted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and officials there have given all assurances that they would look into the situation.

GWI had said on Thursday that the area where the material is falls under the purview of the East Demerara Water Conser-vancy.

On Thursday, UK-based Guyanese Benjamin Brock told Stabroek News that  he observed the pieces of material, stacked on each other, several weeks ago as he travelled along Sheriff Street aback the Botanical Gardens.

He said initially he thought the material “was usual waste” but he further investigated and discovered that the pieces of material, which he believes were roofing parts, contained asbestos.

On Benjamin’s directions, Stabroek News visited the area and found the material stacked at the corner of the road, a short distance away from the canal.

A resident in the area told this newspaper that she could not recall seeing anyone dumping the asbestos material there but according to her, it may have been dumped there within the past three weeks since before then, a resident of the area “burnt all the garbage which was there”. It was evident on Thursday that the garbage in the vicinity had been burnt.