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Asbestos management questions unanswered
The Independent emailed an enquiry, at 2.30pm on Friday November 11 (and phone calls on Friday and Monday), to Clarence Valley Council, regarding its management of 900 kilograms of bonded asbestos cement uncovered at the Tyson St site for the council’s new depot, however, a response had not been received by the paper’s noon Monday print deadline.
A report and the minutes of a Project Control Group (PCG) tabled at yesterday’s council meeting, which detail progress at the site, states that “air monitoring stations [have been established] around the boundary of the site”.
“Some site staff carry individual air monitoring devices, increased watering has been undertaken and, as a precautionary measure, stockpiles on site have been treated with a polymer spray to provide an increased level of safety.”
Further, the PDG minutes state that “Hutchinson Builders (HB) have progressed with works on site including demolition of the existing Sewer Treatment Plant (STP) and sifting the stockpiles of uncontrolled fill, in accordance with the RAP (remediation action plan).
“At the same time investigative works were conducted by HB to gain better understanding of the site conditions.”
The Independent noted in the questions that warning signs (among other issues, including if neighbours and the adjacent school had been notified), as per the council’s own policy and Workcover’s How to Safely Remove Asbestos; Code of Practice, were not evident at the site.