Blue Mountains Council won’t apologise until inquiry finalised
Read how Blue Mountains Council avoided prosecution over asbestos mishandling allegations and why it’s refusing to say sorry to staff until after the inquiry is finalised.
The Blue Mountains News
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Blue Mountains Council has avoided prosecution over asbestos mishandling allegations and is refusing to say sorry to staff who may have felt let down in the process.
Council’s chief executive Rosemary Dillon told councillors on Tuesday night there was “insufficient evidence” for the NSW Environment Protection Authority to proceed with any prosecution and a public inquiry is still underway.
Mayor Mark Greenhill said he would support a public apology if it was found council had “acted inappropriately”.
The comments were prompted by Councillor Kerry Brown who recommended in the meeting that council apologise to the council workers and their families impacted by incidents at Lawson Mechanics Institute hall and a council stockpile site at 2-6 Park St, Lawson.
She read from an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) council voluntarily entered into with Safe Work which says council “deeply regrets those incidents and has acted in response to them to enhance its work health and safety systems”.
The EU says in 2016 when council workers discovered the foundations of an old house while excavating at 283 Great Western Highway (the Mechanics hall) to make way for a sealed car park, council did not analyse the uncovered material to determine if asbestos or asbestos-containing material (ACM) was present.
Council workers transported about 500 tonnes of excavated soil from the carpark site to 2-6 Park St, according to the EU.
Between November 17 and December 12, 2016, a council worker was also asked to sift excavated soil from the carpark site with a machine called a “shaker”.
On December 20, 2016, 12 loads of excavated construction and demolition was transported in tarped trucks from the stockpile site to Blaxland Waste Management Facility.
The EU says neither site had asbestos registers or asbestos management plans and workers at both sites “had not been adequately trained in the identification and safe handling of, and suitable control measures for, asbestos and ACM.”
Council entered into the EU with Safe Work after Safe Work began proceedings against it in the NSW Local Court, alleging eight breaches of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011.
Despite council’s documented “deep regret” Cr Romola Hollywood said she felt during an inquiry was not “an appropriate time to take on what Councillor Brown is proposing” — other councillors agreed.
“We need to be properly briefed on the implications (of apologising),” she said.
Since these incidents, the council completed asbestos registers for each building and workplace and prepared an organisational asbestos management plan and site-specific asbestos management plans.
On Tuesday councillors also allocated $39,333 towards complying with the EU, including developing an asbestos management tool kit other local councils can also use.