Bermuda can save millions of dollars by dumping 165 containers of asbestos at sea.

Frequent visitor Alf Nielsen, who has lived and worked with asbestos most of his life, told The Royal Gazette the substance was the safest material on earth when handled correctly.

His comments came as Bermuda wrestles with how it will dispose of tons of asbestos collected from private and public buildings.

Government, with the approval of the Health and Environment ministries and the Bermuda Biological Station, planned to dispose of the containers some 18 miles off Bermuda. They were to be dropped 12,000 feet down at the old munitions dump.

But after harsh criticism from the Progressive Labour Party, other locals, and negative publicity from the international environmental watchdog group Greenpeace, Government is reconsidering.

Bermudian taxpayers have already spent $1.5 million to pack and prepare the asbestos.

Britain informed Government it would cost an estimated $5 million to send the asbestos there, while the US estimates it would cost between $3 million and $5 million to send it there.

The Island will also be liable if it was later proved the asbestos made anyone living near the dump site ill.

Such cost and trouble was not necessary, said Mr. Nielsen, chairman of the board of C. Bagge's -- one of the oldest asbestos companies in Oslo, Norway -- and a former board member of Asbestos International Organisation.

However, he stressed he had nothing to gain by speaking in favour of dumping asbestos at sea.

A sufferer of asbestosis himself, Mr. Nielsen said he, like many others, was ignorant about the substance until he was diagnosed some 15 years ago.

He noted asbestos was used all over the world, including in breweries, motor vehicles and homes, prior to its link to lung cancer in the mid-to-late 1970s.

"It was used for firefighters' clothing as insulation against flames because it does not burn,'' he pointed out. "It stands up to more than 800 degrees centigrade, then it turns to powder.'' "Asbestos consists of fibres which, depending on the length, can be used for all kinds of packings,'' Mr. Nielsen further explained. "But one of the most important products asbestos was used for was brake lining. It was the only material which was really good for that purpose so there was a big demand for it.

"But with the scare, companies were looking at every alternative. Until one of the largest companies in the world, DuPont, came up with a substance, some 15 years ago, called Kevlar which is mainly made from crude oil.'' Mr. Nielsen said Kevlar had virtually replaced asbestos because it was twice as strong as steel and in many ways it was "as good as asbestos''.

However, Mr. Nielsen noted it was not as flexible as asbestos because it could not endure as high temperatures as asbestos.

"I've studied asbestos,'' he stressed. "It is much better to sink it in water rather than bury it. Because years later someone will build again and take it up.

"Asbestos does not do any harm to anyone. It is the safest thing on earth when you know how to take care of it because asbestos cannot be affected by any acid and you cannot burn through it.

"It is the purist material on earth.'' Mr. Nielsen also noted the drinking water of all major cities in the western world used to be filtered through asbestos fibres for purification.

"Breweries in Norway bought 100 to 150 kilos of asbestos to filter water before making beer such as Carlsberg,'' he recalled.

"They are probably not using it today because of the scare.'' But Mr. Nielsen stressed that asbestos was safe as long as the material containing the mineral was moistened.

This way, it could not give off dust, he explained.

"So if they dropped the containers in the sea and if they came apart, it will not hurt anyone because it's wet and because it is a mineral. It will sink because it's heavier than water.'' Mr. Nielsen, who caused quite a stir in Norway when he ate asbestos to show how safe it was, said neither humans nor fish would be harmed if they consumed the substance.

"If you eat it, it comes out again,'' he pointed out."But don't inhale it, because it stays in the lungs.'' He also stressed that it was generally accepted among doctors everywhere that it took 20 to 30 years to determine whether a person has been effected by asbestos.

Mr. Nielsen pointed out that he, up until some 15 years ago, smoked two cigarettes a day and six to seven at social events.

"What doctors fail to say is asbestos alone is not difficult to handle when you know it can be dangerous,'' he said. "But combined with smoking it is really dangerous.'' "I never protected myself against asbestos,'' he recalled. "When I worked in my father's warehouse I was always covered in asbestos dust. Everybody was smoking. We didn't know anything.'' Since being diagnosed with asbestosis, Mr. Nielsen said he has quit smoking, gets check-ups twice a year, and has become involved in many physical activities, including tennis and skiing.

ASBESTOS EXPERT -- Norwegian visitor Alf Nielsen supports disposing of asbestos at sea.