Air is Clear at Public Housing Units

More air quality monitoring tests from public housing units in Sydney are showing clear results.

No asbestos fibres were detected in the latest round of air quality testing of 15 units at the Ashby and Whitney Pier Terraces.

Of the 32 air quality monitoring results received to date, all indicate there is no air borne asbestos in the living quarters of public housing units.

Two additional air quality tests were conducted inside contained work areas - where the attics were being sealed. In one of those contained work areas, no airborne asbestos was detected. In the second area, one asbestos fibre was detected in 4,850 litres sampled. That's less than .001 fibres per cubic centimetre.

Four bulk samples of vermiculite insulation in single public housing units indicate two contain asbestos and two do not.

While the Cape Breton Island Housing Authority is carrying out its interim asbestos management plan, the Department of Community Services is sending its internal report on asbestos in some Sydney public housing units to investigators at the Department of Environment and Labour.

The deputy minister of Community Services, Marian Tyson instructed staff to find out why a lab report -- which indicated the presence of asbestos in vermiculite insulation -- was not acted upon by the Cape Breton Island Housing Authority. Labour officials are conducting an independent investigation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

"Staff at Environment and Labour are conducting a parallel investigation and have asked for our draft report. We support their investigation and we look forward to receiving their final report.

"In the meantime, we can indicate that our preliminary findings point to a couple of problems. There seems to have been a lack of understanding of the potential seriousness of the test results. It also appears there was a breakdown in communications; people up the line, who should have known about the lab report, were not informed."

The Department of Environment and Labour issued a stop-work order on construction activity by the Cape Breton Island Housing Authority on April 5, when it learned that one of the authority's public housing units contained vermiculite insulation with asbestos fibres.

The housing authority's interim asbestos management plan has been approved by the Department of Environment and Labour. The plan includes taking air quality tests and sealing all 100 units known to contain vermiculite insulation. All but three of the 100 units have been sealed or protected. Air quality testing continues.

The Department of Community Services and the Cape Breton Island Housing Authority will rely on independent, expert advice to help determine the best course of action for permanently dealing with the asbestos.