Asbestos stayed in David Jones store on Rundle Mall for more than two decades despite warning
Asbestos remained inside David Jones’ old Rundle Mall store for two decades despite a warning by the state government in the 1970s, court documents have revealed.
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Asbestos remained within a Rundle Mall department store for 20 years after its owners received a State Government letter warning it posed a danger to public safety, court documents have revealed.
The Advertiser today reported how former Rundle Mall retail store workers who developed fatal illnesses from being exposed to asbestos in the 1960s and 70s have been awarded large amounts of compensation.
In the most recent finding, the Full Court of the Supreme Court this month ordered a contractor that sprayed blue asbestos during construction projects in the 1960s to pay most of $435,000 awarded to a former display artist at David Jones.
Bradford Insulation (BI) Contracting Pty Ltd unsuccessfully appealed against an order by the District Court to pay 75 per cent after it found the company failed to warn David Jones about the dangers of asbestos.
In his judgment, Judge Brian Gilchrist found David Jones had been told by the State Government in the late 1970s that blue asbestos sprayed by Bradford Insulation posed a risk to public safety.
Judge Gilchrist said the SA Health Commission had conducted air sampling at five locations inside the old David Jones store on Rundle Mall.
This included the “mezzanine office floor area which had no suspended ceiling and had exposed asbestos on steelwork”.
“Air sampling was carried out because the building’s structural steelwork was coated with blue asbestos (crocilodite) during construction,” said Judge Gilchrist.
“It (the commission) noted that areas with exposed asbestos coating were extremely hazardous.”
Judge Gilchrist said the Health Commission wrote to David Jones in November, 1977, about the air sampling results.
It also had conducted testing conducted on a sample of blue asbestos taken from a exposed steel beam.
The analysis — by the Australian Mineral Development Laboratories — showed the material consisted “almost entirely of crocilodite”.
Judge Gilchrist said the Health Commission’s letter warned David Jones that the “presence of crocilodite in your building will mean that specific precautions will be necessary whenever the material is encountered”.
“In addition, as the building ages, the condition of the asbestos coating may be expected to deteriorate and so further action may be necessary if the deterioration does occur,” it said.
“That eventuality, however, may be years or even decades off.”
Judge Gilchrist said the Health Commission told David Jones that areas within the store
“with exposed asbestos coating were extremely hazardous”.
David Jones management met on December 16, 1977, to discuss the Health Commission letter.
Judge Gilchrist said the minutes of the meeting “record that it was resolved that in terms of dealing with the asbestos the immediate focus was on exposed beams, that the roof area would be done first, followed by the ladies store reserve and the mezzanine.
“What was to be done was that a mix of aquadere (PVA glue) and water would be sprayed on the exposed asbestos,” he said.
David Jones subsequently wrote to the SA Health Commission on November 22, 1978, saying “it had obtained appropriate equipment, the vacuuming of surfaces had been completed, masking and breathing equipment was being used by those working in affected areas and exposed beams had been cleaned and sprayed”.
However, an asbestos risk assessment undertaken 20 years later in April, 1998, “revealed that there was residual asbestos in the roof area on the boilers, the plantroom soffit (eaves) beams and the original electric cable trays”.
Judge Gilchrist said the assessment found blue asbestos had been applied to steel beams “on various floors for fire rating purposes”.
“The affected floors are 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and ground floor,” it said.
“Residual sprayed blue asbestos insulation is also present on designated areas of mezzanine floor, ground floor ceiling spaces and rooftop plant room soffits.”
Judge Gilchrist said the risk assessment “noted that sprayed limpet asbestos is friable and subject to damage and deterioration if disturbed”.
Comment has been sought from Safe Work SA and the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency.
The former David Jones store since has been stripped of all asbestos and refurbished.
