24 truckloads of asbestos-contaminated debris found in Christchurch landfill.
The problems continue to mount in the post-quake clean-up in New Zealand. On a day in which we brought you a video of a building collapsing during demolition and just a week after a structural engineer described some of the building inspections as “cursory” comes the news that 24 truckloads of asbestos-contaminated material has found its way into a Christchurch landfill.
And there are fears that this may not be an isolated incident.
A report released yesterday under the Official Information Act found Christchurch demolition firm Dormer Construction and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) failed to identify the presence of asbestos at a Cashel St demolition site in July.
About 24 truckloads of contaminated rubble was dumped at the Burwood recovery park and contaminated steel taken to Christchurch recycling plant Sims Pacific Metals before the substance was discovered.
In his report completed in August, department inspector Steve Moran said he was “extremely concerned” the case was not an isolated incident.
The report also suggested that contractors working on demolition sites do not have adequate training to recognise the presence of asbestos, and that Cera is not undertaking an assessment of the likely presence of asbestos before ordering demolition.
Read more here.
