Call for review of asbestos buildings in Waterford in aftermath of Tycor fire
Cllr Mary Roche made the comments at the May plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council
A local councillor has called for a review of the Waterford buildings which were built using asbestos-contained materials.
It comes after asbestos-contained materials were found in the debris of the Tycor Business Centre, which was extensively damaged by a recent fire.
Social Democrats councillor Mary Roche made the comments at the May plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council.
Cllr Roche said: “My question relates to other asbestos buildings that might be in the courtage of this city and county, whether that’s in the city, Dungarvan, wherever.
“I think we need to be aware of those buildings, maybe not today but in the aftermath of this I think we need to have an assessment of those buildings and the safety of them.”
She continued by asking whether there are any mediation measures that the council can take to alleviate any future problems with asbestos.
“I’m quite sure that this will be a huge burden financially on this council and on the central Government as well.
“So if there’s anything we can do to ward it off we should learn from that and try and put something in place.”
In response to Cllr Roche, Sean McKeown, Chief Executive of Waterford City and County Council, outlined the issues around asbestos.
Mr McKeown said: “There are quite a number of buildings, not just around here but around the country that have asbestos roots and materials in them.
“You can imagine, three or four days into this event, we’ve had to scale up our education around asbestos contained materials and all that goes with that.
“Our understanding is that asbestos is completely okay as long as it’s not disturbed and the fibres become air borne and that’s the issue.
“That’s the issue we’re currently dealing with in the clean up around the vicinity of the Tycor Business Centre and that’s a huge issue.”
He concluded by saying that this was based on the best available international advice in relation to asbestos.
Air monitoring conducted in the immediate aftermath of the fire did not detect elevated asbestos fibre concentrations in the air. However, monitoring will continue over the coming days.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has been informed of the situation and the council said it will continue to work with the HSE.
Members of the public are advised to avoid the area as operations continue and stay out of smoke.