Asbestos risk closes CBD work site
A construction site in central Christchurch has been shut down because of an asbestos exposure risk.
Organisers for EPMU Construction were conducting site visits in the central city on Tuesday when they found Fulton Hogan staff working on an asbestos-containing pipe on the corner of Colombo and Tuam streets.
‘‘They were using a jackhammer removing concrete around a pipe,’’ organiser Hemi Martin said.
‘‘When we asked the guys they confirmed . . . it was an asbestos pipe. The pipe had a few holes in it but it also had a bit that looked like it had been sawn off.’’
Work was halted on the site. The organisers alerted health and safety agency WorkSafe NZ.
‘‘It’s about as bad a breach as you can probably get,’’ Martin said. ‘‘Especially when they knew [the pipe contained asbestos]. They just said. ‘We’re sorry, we probably should have [followed asbestos safety procedures]’.’’
Martin said it was a pedestrian-heavy area and the work posed a ‘‘huge risk’’ to the public.
‘‘Mums with prams, school kids, anybody walking past [is at risk]. That’s why we needed to do something about it straight away.
‘‘It was a matter of luck that we saw this unsafe work being done . . . keeping workers and the public safe shouldn’t come down to luck.’’
A WorkSafe spokeswoman said an inspector had visited the site and was making inquiries with Fulton Hogan.
The site had been shut down voluntarily, she said. There had been no stop-work order from WorkSafe and there was no formal investigation as yet.
Fulton Hogan did not respond to requests for comment.