Asbestos exposed at Waiwera facility, sacked contractor says
The Waiwera Water bottling facility north of Auckland has had an asbestos scare.
An asbestos inspector and WorkSafe New Zealand have visited the facility after concerns were raised by a former contractor working on the refurbishment of the Waiwera Thermal Resort hot pools.
Contractor Ken Borg said he saw ‘‘asbestos through the ceiling and walls’’ of a building adjacent to the bottling plant.
‘‘It was quite fluffy. You can see the asbestos. It’s exposed. There could have been dust anywhere, it could be flowing throughout their bottling plant.’’
The building Borg viewed is identified as the ‘‘filtration and pump station rooms’’ at the water bottling plant, according to a map provided by Waiwera Water to the Auckland Council for resource consent to renovate last year.
Borg said the site project manager Peter Van Helmond ‘‘openly told me’’ the ‘‘fluff’’ was asbestos and it would be fixed eventually.
Borg complained to WorkSafe NZ after he was fired by Van Helmond over alleged bullying.
Van Helmond said he hired an asbestos assessor who had since inspected the site.
‘‘I knew if I didn’t, they [WorkSafe] would close me down.’’
The inspector found ‘‘nothing wrong,’’ and the bottling plant was operating ‘‘on a reduced scale’’. He would not say how many staff members were working in the plant.
A WorkSafe NZ spokeswoman said its staff visited the water plant and spoke with managers who said a licensed asbestos assessor had tested the building.
WorkSafe NZ was waiting for the assessor’s report, which would help determine any further action, the spokeswoman said.
Van Helmond said he sent the report to WorkSafe yesterday.
Waiwera Water’s bottling facility shares a site with the Waiwera Thermal Resort pools. Waiwera bottled water is sold domestically and overseas.
Russian billionaire Mikhail Khimich is the majority shareholder of the resort and Waiwera Water New Zealand through his company Waiwera Group.
The resort abruptly fired all staff earlier this year, before renovations were due to begin in February.
Documents submitted by Waiwera Thermal Resort to the Auckland Council in August last year said the hot pools and spa had been in decline for some time and its ‘‘refurbishment is critical to it remaining open’’.
Van Helmond said ‘‘physical work’’ on the renovation began three weeks ago.
The work was ‘‘going at a good rate’’, but he could not confirm if the first stage of renovations would be completed by the due date of December 1.