The Smithy building is already roofless... It all happened very quickly, as they used a telehandler with a cage on it instead of having to scaffold anything out.
http://www.lancastercohousing.org.uk/
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Demolition begins
Work started on Monday this week on demolishing the factory buildings! They are fenced off, and a small gang are carefully removing the cement asbestos sheeting from the roofs.
The Smithy building is already roofless... It all happened very quickly, as they used a telehandler with a cage on it instead of having to scaffold anything out.
http://www.lancastercohousing.org.uk/
The Smithy building is already roofless... It all happened very quickly, as they used a telehandler with a cage on it instead of having to scaffold anything out.
http://www.lancastercohousing.org.uk/
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Lancaster Cohousing do not seem to be dealing with the asbestos properly on this site and are potentially exposing yourselves and the public to danger at the present moment.
ReplyDeleteI visited the site on days leading up to and including 24 April 2011
On 24 the April there was an open skip with asbestos cement roofing in a mixed load (not covered or bagged) right adjacent to the public footpath on a busy easter weekend. I have photographs to prove it.
You need to get a proper contractor trained in asbestos removal and disposal who adheres to Health and Safety Executive regulations to do this type of work by law . Most asbestos removal work must be undertaken by a licensed contractor.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/regulations.htm
You need to dampen/wet the area of removal making sure that there are no breakages. You must not use hammers or any tool that will cause the asbestos to shatter releasing the fibres which are otherwise inert within the cement into the atmosphere, fibres once released are very long lasting and extremely dangerous to humans and animals and may cause illness and death many years after the exposure.
You need to bag securely and safely and screen from the public and asbestos is only to be disposed of in special council designated areas and not in a general tip. Workers have to use special clothing and breathing gear for this job and be fully trained and act responsibly.
When I walked past the other day the air was heavy with dust which had obviously come from the start of the extensive asbestos roofing removals
I was going to report this dangerous situation directly to the Environment Agency but I would like to give you the chance to remedy this from this time on and deal with it in a proper safe way. If you do not deal with the asbestos correctly you and your children and memebers of the public who use this right of way will be exposed to danger for years to come as Asbestos is virtually indestructible.
http://www.asbestosismesothelioma.org/exposure/risks/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos_and_the_law#United_Kingdom
email me at nameandshame@gmail.com
Hello - I don't have the information to respond to this myself, but just to acknowledge your message and let you know I'll pass it on and make sure someone feeds back to you here asap.
ReplyDeletebest
jo (for Lancaster Cohousing)
Thanks for the report. The asbestos removal is being carried out by specialist subcontractors working for our demolition contractor in line with an approved method statement. The material has to be stored on site for a few days because it is only accepted for proper disposal by the Council on two days per week, but you are right that there should not be asbestos roofing in an open skip and we will investigate this with the contractor first thing on Tuesday 26.
ReplyDeleteI notice that the workers on your photo above are not wearing disposable protective clothing or breathing gear and you fail to mention the dampening/wetting of the material. It is Lancaster Cohousing's responsibility not just to wave some abstract method statement at us but to see that the work is carried out properly according to the law and to make sure that the general public and workers are not exposed in any way to asbestos fibres or dust.
ReplyDeleteBits of paper are no good if the environment is contaminated and people exposed to long term danger and when the prescribed methods are ignored by the contractor (as it appears in this case) and asbestos is not damped, not double bagged, left broken in any open skip next to a busy public footpath along with other items, then it may be better to go through the "method statement" with a fine tooth comb with the "specialist contractor" and ask them why the job is not being done properly. You need to be responsible and vigilant and clearing it away quickly is not the best solution with this extremely dangerous material. This sort of "oversight" is not something that can be simply shrugged off.
Both my friend and myself were exposed to this dust a few days ago (we could taste it in our mouths) and the skip has been there for some time, so many more people may have been exposed to it.
email me at nameandshame@gmail.com
Cohousing please read this
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos_abatement
contact me nameandshame@gmail.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos_and_the_law#Environmental_-_Asbestos_Removal_and_Cleanup
ReplyDeleteYou can see photos of open asbestos skip on
ReplyDeletehttp://www.knockandenter.com/forumLA1/index.php?topic=18.60
post 60 onwards
from topic
http://www.knockandenter.com/forumLA1/index.php?topic=18.0
see post 53 dated Jan 31 2011 where I first mention the danger of Asbestos removal
nameandshame@gmail.com
I am the friend referred to above who was present at the site and could actually smell the asbestos.
ReplyDeleteOnce this problem had been drawn to the attention of Lancaster co-housing, I think it should have been dealt with as a matter of urgency. I appreciate that this is a bank holiday weekend, but because of that the area has been extremely busy which means large numbers of people, plus their dogs have been exposed to the asbestos. The resident wildlife will also have suffered.
Once the situation had been brought to your attention, it would have been better to immediately contact the Environmental Agency's emergency service so that they could get someone to attend the site and secure the asbestos as soon as possible.
As it stands, we have to wait until Tues and even then I'm not sure how quickly or efficiently the contractors will respond given their mistakes with the asbestos removal up to this point.
Many thanks to my friend for bringing this to your attention, and let's all hope for a speedy and satisfactory resolution.
I have contacted the Environment Agency and Lancaster Environmental Health Office. I would like to see a copy of the "Approved Method Statement" and the name of the sub contractors concerned and have a guarantee as soon as possible that no more asbestos will find it's way into the environment from the Lancaster Cohousing site and that prescribed asbestos removal and disposal methods are followed from now on but in my mind this is a bit like locking the door after the horse has already bolted.
ReplyDeleteI will give my name if required but at the present moment would like to remain anonymous.
contact me nameandshame@gmail.com
We are dealing with this via email (nameandshame, if you didn't receive our response at the email address you provided, you can contact us at lancastercohousing at gmail dot com). We are not accepting further comments on this post at this time.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on the skip. It was left covered by the contractor with pallets used to hold the sheeting down, but unfortunately someone broke into the site and stole the pallets. The contractor was informed as soon as we could get hold of them and they dealt with it this morning.
As far as removal of the roof is concerned we have been following advice in Health & Safety Executive (HSE ) guidelines – http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg213.pdf . They are more detailed than the info you point to on Wikipedia.
While the demolition contractors are using a licensed contractor for the removal – this is not actually a requirement of the legislation which excludes cement roofing sheets as the asbestos is bound with the cement and difficult to release if it is removed by hand. Also I don’t know what it was that you could smell when you were passing, but it won’t have been asbestos as it does not have a smell.
All the comments you make apply to asbestos of other types and in other forms, not to cement roofing sheets. We had an asbestos survey done last year and small amounts were found; mainly in the backing to fuse boxes and in some old vinyl tiles – these were removed by a licensed contractor back in December.
Thanks again for keeping an eye on this. We are aware that working alongside a well used public footpath means we need to get contractors to take extra care. If you still have concerns we would be happy to meet with you on site and talk through any issues with you.
Chris Coates – Director Lancaster Cohousing.
See HSE Guide : Asbestos: The licensed contractors guide. - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg247.pdf
Page 31
Products excluded from the licensing regulations
2.6 There are certain asbestos products to which ASLIC does not apply. ASLIC does not apply to:
asbestos cement (see Figure 2.1), defined as material which is mainly a mixture of cement and asbestos and which when in a dry state has a density greater than 1 tonne per cubic metre. This material is typically found as roofing sheets, gutters, cladding, drainpipes, flues and some soffits;
Also: HSE Guide on working on Roofs. - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg33.pdf
Appendix 5
Asbestos cement is a grey, hard, brittle material normally containing 10–15% asbestos fibre. It is a dense material with a density greater than 1 tonne/m3 and when soaked in water for at least 15 minutes will absorb less than 30% of its own weight of water as the asbestos fibres are tightly bound with cement.
&
To release the asbestos fibres from the asbestos cement, the material needs to be aggressively abraded. Activities such as sawing, drilling, wire brushing or crushing the material by tracking back and forth with heavy machinery are likely to produce dust containing asbestos fibres if the material is dry.
&
Demolition
Method 1 – by hand
Due to the high level of asbestos dust created during remote demolition, the extra dust created during the subsequent clean up and the risk to anyone downwind of the site, demolition by hand is the preferred option.
&
If the asbestos cement sheets are in reasonable condition and it is possible to provide safe access and a safe work surface (see paragraphs 170–202) then the sheets should be taken down whole – they should not be dropped or damaged. They are best disposed of by careful transfer to covered lorries or skips, or by wrapping intact in heavy-duty sheet plastic.
As we have now had a chance to talk to our contractors and post a response, we have re-enabled commenting on this post.
ReplyDeleteI sent this email 27/4/2011 12.57 in response to one received from Lancaster Cohousing regarding the public exposure to asbestos from their site in an uncovered skip over the Easter weekend and recently.
ReplyDelete.........................................................................................
To Lancaster Cohousing
The Lancaster Cohousing response to my email saying that stolen pallets caused the exposure of
asbestos in the skip does not make sense as you can see clearly from the photos of the skip (Posts
63, 64, 65, 66, dated April 24/25 2011
http://www.knockandenter.com/forumLA1/index.php?topic=18.60
in that the plastic is underneath the asbestos and only on the outside of the skip on one side. The logic of this being, that the asbestos was placed on top of the plastic that should have been covering it.
As for quoting me Health and Safety Exexutive literature you may notice that on my site I have
used Health and Safety Executive links sice January of this year regarding the dangers of asbestos
removal and disposal on the Lancaster Cohousing site..
Also I note that you have now stopped members of the public from posting anonymously on your blog.
Why is that?
As to asbestos cement roofing it contains asbestos fibres and must be regarded in the same way in
terms of potential danger to the health and safety of the public as any other asbestos product. Just
because it is generally sealed in the cement material when unbroken does not make it safe when
broken/shattered. I believe that older versions of asbestos roofing are much more likely to erode
and expose fibres to the atmosphere when broken/shattered/crushed.
Some of my questions still remain unanswered from my last email to you.
Lancaster Resident
.......
and
I find it odd that Lancaster Cohousing organisation has made it more difficult for concerned individuals and members of the public to make comments on Lancaster Cohousing Asbestos exposure, management, removal and disposal on the very forum put there by itself for the purpose of public comment, particularly when two people have notified them that they have been exposed to and breathed in the dust from the uncovered Asbestos skip. Many other members of the public and workers might have been similarly exposed over an extended period of time to dust blowing about the site. The heavily used public footbath by the River Lune adjacent to the Lancaster Cohousing site at Halton is right next to the skip . I feel that there might be some sort of obfuscation campaign going on here, it doesn't seem very "open" or "transparent" to me.
Photos of children paddling over the Easter weekend only a matter of yards away from an uncovered skip of broken asbestos will not allay peoples fears.
you can contact me nameandshame@gmail.com
Jay Astarte (who posted previously) has asked me to post on her behalf as she now finds it difficult to post her comment because Lancaster Cohousing changed the posting procedure.
ReplyDeleteas follows
..................................................
April 27th 2011
I tried to post a reply on Lancaster Co-Housing blog yesterday, but was unable to do so. There is no longer an option in the drop-down box which applies to me (ie I'm not posting anonymously, but there isn't an option for name of poster).
My comments are that despite the assurances that the asbestos in this form is not so dangerous, I still believe it should have been placed in a skip then covered securely (pallets on top of sheeting does not seem very secure). Not only that, but as pointed out by the previous poster, in one skip the asbestos was broken, and was above the sheeting. Once the asbestos had been secured in the skip, ideally the skip itself should have been safely removed from site or, if this was not possible, left inside of a locked perimeter fence, particularly over a long bank holiday weekend.
Although Lancaster Cohousing replied to my email of 27/4/2011 there was not a great deal of substance to it and time is going by.
ReplyDelete................................
To Lancaster Cohousing
The Lancaster Cohousing response to my email saying that stolen pallets caused the exposure of
asbestos in the skip does not make sense as you can see clearly from the photos of the skip (Posts
63, 64, 65, 66, dated April 24/25 2011
http://www.knockandenter.com/forumLA1/index.php?topic=18.60
in that the plastic is underneath the asbestos and only on the outside of the skip on one side. The logic of this being, that the asbestos was placed on top of the plastic that should have been covering it.
As for quoting me Health and Safety Exexutive literature you may notice that on my site I have
used Health and Safety Executive links since January of this year regarding the dangers of asbestos
removal and disposal on the Lancaster Cohousing site..
Also I note that you have now stopped members of the public from posting anonymously on your blog.
Why is that?
As to asbestos cement roofing it contains asbestos fibres and must be regarded in the same way in
terms of potential danger to the health and safety of the public as any other asbestos product. Just
because it is generally sealed in the cement material when unbroken does not make it safe when
broken/shattered. I believe that older versions of asbestos roofing are much more likely to erode
and expose fibres to the atmosphere when broken/shattered/crushed.
Some of my questions still remain unanswered from my last email to you.
Lancaster Resident
............................................
as follows
............................................
17.08 28/4/2011
Hi, just to acknowledge receipt of this and let you know we will respond in
due course.
Lancaster Cohousing
.................................................
I asked previously why the workers were not wearing protective disposable clothing and breathing apparatus?
and about your dampening/wetting procedures when removing the asbestos.
Why was the asbestos on top of the plastic covers in the skip during the Easter period and before? If covering pallets being removed/stolen was (as you state) the problem, then the plastic would have been outside the skip not buried under the asbestos.
I would still like to see your asbestos plan as agreed with the contractors and sub contractors for the removal and disposal of the extensive asbestos on the Lancaster Cohousing site.
You are removing this asbestos very quickly so I would like some answers soon please.
....
Please excuse "public footbath" typo in previous post, should read "public footpath" d'oh!