Port Macquarie Independent
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Thursday 24 December, 2014
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It’s just the pits Delivered free throughout the Port Macquarie, Laurieton, Wauchope and Kempsey regions • Phone: 6583 9088 • Thursday 29 January 2015
Asbestos work causes angst By CAROLINE STRAINIG
WHEN Port Macquarie resident Bob Dennington saw a subcontractor pull up outside his place and start digging in a Telstra pit with a small digger, he didn’t think much about it. Then he started to worry. He knew from seeing inside the pit some time before when it was broken that it was the type that contained asbestos. He could also see that the workers were not dressed in any type of protective clothing. Bob asked them what they were doing and was told they were replacing the pit. He saw what he believed was broken asbestos mixed with soil in the back of the truck and took a few photos. He then phoned the subcontractors’ supervisor and advised him of his concerns. He also phoned the government authority responsible for workplace safety, ComCare, and forwarded them the photos of the site. ComCare assured him Telstra would follow up. The subcontractors’ supervisor then arrived on site and advised Bob that the asbestos material would be double bagged and removed and the material in the back of the truck would also be double bagged. “After the supervisor spoke to me, they started safety procedures, such as wearing white suits,” Bob said. “However, the next morning the crew returned and removed more soil from the hole, which they double bagged. They were not wearing their
white protective gear at that time.” Bob’s major concern was not so much about the workers because he felt that was their own issue, but that contaminated soil may have been dropped around the pit area. “I have to mow the lawn and do the edges with the whipper-snipper which will throw up dust and dirt that maybe contaminated,” he said. Telstra has since advised him that the top soil around the pit for one metre will be replaced, which has alleviated that fear, but the whole episode has left Bob with a sour taste in his mouth. He feels if he hadn’t been so alert the result could have been different. Asked for comment by the Independent, Telstra said they had investigated and were confident the subcontractor had done nothing wrong. “Both ourselves and ComCare are comfortable that the appropriate precautions were taken in regards to protective clothing in the removal of asbestos-containing material,” a spokesperson said. “The work undertaken in one photo where no protective clothing was worn was confirmed as preparation and did not involve the removal of asbestos-containing material. “The contractor involved was reminded of procedures regarding the removal of excess soil.”
Page 3 Rain keeps tumbling down
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Bob Dennington in front of the pit in Bellevue Drive INSERT: Workers on site before they started wearing protective clothing
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