From Christchurch, New Zealand, comes the news that construction workers who removed deadly asbestos from a 1920s building earlier this month had no idea what they were handling and did not wear protective gear.

Workers began demolishing the 1920s former waterworks building at 170 Fitzgerald Avenue on Monday and began removing the asbestos on Tuesday. It wasn't until Wednesday that the site was shut down by the Department of Labor, and asbestos specialists were called to decontaminate the site.

Asbestos specialist John Walder said, "I feel sorry for the guys that did the work because in another 20 years they could be in trouble."

And don't we know it.

Men handled deadly fibres without knowing it