Asbestos contamination at Dunedin Railway Station

[womentravelnz.com]

There’s a new tenancy at the Dunedin Railway Station.

People working on the project had been told the whole underfloor area was safe to enter; that there was plastic down.

Turns out the plastic cover ran short, and a number of site workers had crawled across bare dirt, kicking up a lot of dust as they went – it was found the area had been contaminated with asbestos.

We understand workmen from several companies have been affected.

The Dunedin Railway Station is a council owned property. Affected sitemen have since had their names added to the WorkSafe Asbestos Exposure Database; and Health and Safety meetings have been called to review safety drills and gear provision.

It appears a few people have slipped up along the ‘food chain’ of managerial responsibility for the workers, starting with DCC management (the building owner).

We hear DCC is now paying for workers to be educated on what protection gear they must wear on exposed asbestos worksites.

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Related Post and Comments:
19.6.16 Thoughts on ODT Insight : Chris Morris investigates Asbestos plague

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

DCC acuity: ‘Let’s shift Octagon taxi ranks, Again —near dire drinking holes #whatswrongwiththispicture

[click to enlarge]
Octagon taxi rank [dunedin.govt.nz] – orange overlay by whatifdunedin (drinking holes / hospitality)

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
New trial site for evening taxi rank

This item was published on 22 Aug 2016

A new location for the evening taxi rank in the Octagon will be trialled for three months. From tomorrow, the evening taxi rank will move from outside the Municipal Chambers and Civic Centre to the central lane of the Octagon, where tour bus parking has been provided. The rank will operate from 7pm to 7am, Monday to Sunday. During the day time, the taxi rank will operate from the current location outside the Municipal Chambers and Civic Centre. Dunedin City Council Acting Group Manager Transport Richard Saunders says the covered walkway will provide shelter for people waiting for taxis. There will also be a sign to show where the taxi stand is and the area is monitored by CCTV.

“This proposal has been discussed with taxi companies, local businesses and the Police, and there is a lot of support for the trial. The trial site has several advantages over the current site and we expect it to be popular with the public too.” –Saunders

DCC staff have talked with the mobile traders who use that space during the day and the trial will not affect their use of the area. Mr Saunders says at the end of the trial, staff will discuss the results with taxi companies, the Police and local businesses before deciding whether to make it a permanent move.

Contact Richard Saunders, Acting Group Manager Transport on 03 477 4000.

DCC Link

█ 22.8.16 ODT: Taxi rank trial in Octagon

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Previously published comment (2.5.16):

C E N T R A L ● C I T Y ● V I O L E N C E

Mon, 2 May 2016
ODT: Stabbing: ‘What is this place coming to?’
The stabbing of a 21-year-old man in central Dunedin early yesterday has left the man who rushed to his aid questioning the state of his city. Detective Sergeant Chris Henderson said the victim was taken to Dunedin Hospital after being stabbed in the neck and back outside the The Bottle-O store on the corner of Princes St and Moray Pl about 3.30am.

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DUNEDIN IS UP THERE (2015 statistics)

### newshub.co.nz Mon, 2 May 2016 at 4:45 p.m.
NZ’s most violent city spots revealed
By Lisa Owen
A Newshub investigation has revealed Auckland neighbourhoods dominate a leaderboard of the most violent city hot spots in the country. Statistics New Zealand has mapped 2015 police crime data, released to Newshub under the Official Information Act, to show the areas with the highest number of assaults, sexual assaults and robberies in public places. The crimes include anything from rape to being beaten up or being robbed of your cellphone at knife-point. Three of the five most violent city areas (precincts where there are more than 3000 residents) are in Auckland’s CBD. […] *By overlaying population data in the zones where crime has occurred, Statistics NZ has been able to work out the national average for incidents of public place violence. *Article uses 2015 statistics of victimisations by assault, sexual assault and robbery in public places.
Read more + VIDEO

█ Dunedin = No. 7 on New Zealand’s top ten most violent city hot spots
The only South Island hotspot, the area running north from the Octagon.
Newshub

█ For more, enter the term *octagon* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Election Year. This post is offered in the public interest.

Thoughts on ODT Insight : Chris Morris investigates Asbestos plague

 

Dob in an asbestos dumper [illawarramercury.com.au]

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B E L A T E D L Y
Cowboy New Zealand Governments wake up after YEARS of Devastating Sleep.

New Zealand’s asbestos death toll will climb to about 5100, excluding deaths from asbestosis, which were difficult to determine, a WorkSafe spokesman said. It was expected the peak of asbestos-related disease would not be reached until sometime between 2030 and 2040, the spokesman said. (ODT)

Is the Dunedin City Council opening its eyes quickly enough even with the Amalgamated Workers’ Union (AWUNZ) on its tail ? Good council workmen dead and memorialised in photographs, frightening….

“They worked regularly with the city’s asbestos water pipes – cutting and grinding, kicking up asbestos dust and sweeping up the mess later.” (ODT)

Weathered asbestos cement pipe [cep.bessens.free.fr] and asbestos insulation wrap [Asbestorama via flickr.com]

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█ HOW MANY Dunedin City Council (DCC) staff, work crews, contractors and subcontractors have been required to work with asbestos product and exposure to fibres over the years —without comprehensive safety training and correctly specified respirators and safety clothing for individual protection ?
The answer is likely to be unlimited numbers.
Has anything changed at DCC ?
Have all asbestos contaminated DCC-owned sites and work areas been identified to date ?
Are formal protocols and a register in place for personnel who believe they may have been exposed to asbestos and require admittance to a testing regime ?

Proper warning [shutterstock.com]

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ODT Insight: Asbestos: The Silent Killer

### ODT Online Sat, 18 Jun 2016
Asbestos toll will grow
By Chris Morris
The death toll from asbestos-related disease in New Zealand will continue to climb for decades to come, despite a ban on imports of building materials containing the toxic mineral. Environment Minister Nick Smith on Wednesday announced New Zealand would join more than 50 other countries in banning the importation of asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), beginning on October 1, unless exemptions were granted. The move was designed to further reduce the “appalling” death toll caused by asbestos, used in building products for more half a century. It now claimed an estimated 170 lives a year, he said.
Read more

[DCC tragedy] ODT: Suspicions of cancer cluster
Former Dunedin City Council water maintenance staff based at the Midlands St yard say the risks of asbestos were not understood and early precautions inadequate […] a solemn memorial to 14 men taken too soon – photographs of the dead, showing men lost to lung, bowel or prostate cancer, pinned to a noticeboard in the Dunedin City Council’s former Midland St workers’ yard.

● ODT: Asbestos: ‘We were totally ignorant’ of risk’ (+ video)
● ODT: Asbestos claimed him (+ video)

Other stories:

11.5.16 ODT: Asbestos likely to be cost in future
Asbestos may impact the financial health of the Dunedin City Council’s coffers in years to come but the extent of the cost remains unknown, councillors heard at yesterday’s annual plan deliberations. Group chief financial officer Grant McKenzie told councillors work was under way at present to establish the extent of asbestos use and issues in council-owned assets, but the cost to rectify it would not be known until the investigation was complete.

4.5.16 ODT: Removing asbestos pipes
The Dunedin City Council says it will remove decaying asbestos pipes from public land after their existence at Sullivans Dam was noted by the Amalgamated Workers Union. The pipes are beside sheds near the entrance to the popular fishing spot in Leith Valley Rd. The council yesterday said it had not known the pipes were there.

21.4.16 ODT: Asbestos at pool no threat to public
The Dunedin City Council says there is no immediate threat to the public following the discovery of asbestos at Moana Pool. During a maintenance check of the building early last week, asbestos was discovered in the pump storage area under the pool level of the building and in restricted storage areas away from the pool.

20.4.16 ODT: No ‘immediate health risk’ from Moana Pool asbestos
Group Manager Parks and Recreation Richard Saunders said the maintenance checks identified further inspection and testing for asbestos was needed at several sites, of which Moana Pool was one. […] Initial inspections have been carried out at two other buildings – the Sims building in Port Chalmers, which is leased to a club, and a storage shed located next to Tahuna Park used by Parks and Recreation staff and contractors.

16.4.16 ODT: Council denies asbestos danger
A union says the public could easily have been exposed to cut and broken asbestos pipes left unsecured in a sometimes unattended Mosgiel yard. The Amalgamated Workers Union (AWU) said the pipes at the Dunedin City Council’s Mosgiel wastewater treatment plant were not in a safe state and could have been accessed by children in the residential street.

Asbestos cement pipe, close-up of Crocidolite and Chrysotile
[Asbestorama via flickr.com]

ASBESTOS (pronounced /æsˈbɛstəs/, /æzˈbɛstəs/ or /æzˈbɛstɒs/) is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals, which all have in common their eponymous asbestiform habit: long (roughly 1:20 aspect ratio), thin fibrous crystals, with each visible fiber composed of millions of microscopic “fibrils” that can be released by abrasion and other processes. They are commonly known by their colors, as blue asbestos, brown asbestos, white asbestos, and green asbestos.

Asbestos mining existed more than 4,000 years ago, but large-scale mining began at the end of the 19th century, when manufacturers and builders began using asbestos for its desirable physical properties: sound absorption, average tensile strength, resistance to fire, heat, electricity, and affordability. It was used in such applications as electrical insulation for hotplate wiring and in building insulation. When asbestos is used for its resistance to fire or heat, the fibres are often mixed with cement or woven into fabric or mats. These desirable properties made asbestos very widely used. Asbestos use continued to grow through most of the 20th century until public knowledge (acting through courts and legislatures) of the health hazards of asbestos dust outlawed asbestos in mainstream construction and fireproofing in most countries.

Prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibres can cause serious and fatal illnesses including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis (a type of pneumoconiosis). Illness from asbestos exposure can be found in records dating back to Roman times. Concern in modern times began in the 20th century and escalated during the 1920s and 1930s. By the 1980s and 1990s asbestos trade and use was heavily restricted, phased out, or banned outright in an increasing number of countries.

The severity of asbestos-related diseases, the material’s extremely widespread use in many areas of life, its continuing long-term use after harmful health effects were known or suspected, and the slow emergence of symptoms decades after exposure ceased made asbestos litigation the longest, most expensive mass tort in U.S. history and a much lesser legal issue in most other countries involved. Asbestos-related liability also remains an ongoing concern for many manufacturers, insurers and reinsurers.
Read more at Wikipedia: Asbestos

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Myth: Asbestos Fibres are firmly locked in a cement matrix.
● Fact: Asbestos Fibres are readily released from deteriorated or weathered surfaces.

Myth: Asbestos-cement cannot be crumbled to powder by hand pressure.
● Fact: Products such as asbestos-cement corrugated siding become friable from damage.

Myth: Asbestos-cement products present no exposure hazard to building occupants.
● Fact: Asbestos roofing and siding can release fibres inside as well as outside the building. Not all asbestos-cement roofing and siding remain in as good condition. In many countries, the inside of asbestos-cement roofing and siding is subject to the normal activities of the occupants that can release fibres from the surfaces. An asbestos-cement panel can be vibrated by wind, causing some abrasion of the edges.

Myth: Asbestos-cement pipes present no health or environmental hazard.
● Fact: Health and environmental hazards start during the manufacturing process when the ends of the pipes are ground and the waste is disposed of carelessly. Fine dust produced during installation of the pipes is a hazard to the workers and community. When the pipes are dug up and removed, fibres are released as they are broken and crushed. Pressure pipe for water distribution was made with crocidolite and amosite as well as chrysotile.

Myth: Paint and encapsulants offer permanent protection against asbestos fibre release.
● Fact: Paint and encapsulants deteriorate and take asbestos fibres with them when they peel off. Why is it necessary to protect a material that is touted for its weather-resistance and durability, yet encapsulants for asbestos-cement roofing and siding are widely marketed. Encapsulants are a form of paint, and a good paint job begins with surface preparation. The hope is that no one sands asbestos-cement roofing and siding before they paint or encapsulate it, because of the obvious dust and health hazard created.

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█ NEW ZEALAND LEGISLATION

The Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 came into force on 4 April 2016. They set out the new rules around the removal of asbestos, and the circumstances where WorkSafe must be notified.

New licensing system for asbestos removal
A national licensing system for asbestos removal was introduced on 4 April 2016. The licences available under the new asbestos regulations are:

Type of licence : What asbestos can be removed?

Class A
Any type or quantity of asbestos or asbestos containing material, including:
• any amount of friable asbestos or asbestos containing material (ACM)
• any amount of asbestos contaminated dust or debris (ACD)
• any amount of non-friable asbestos or ACM.

Class B
Any amount of non-friable asbestos or ACM
ACD associated with removing any amount of non-friable asbestos or ACM.

No licence is required for removing:
• up to 10 m2 of non-friable asbestos or asbestos-containing material over the whole course of the removal project for the site
• asbestos-contaminated dust that is associated with this volume of asbestos or asbestos-containing material, and/or any associated minor volume of asbestos-contaminated dust or debris.

A new role of asbestos assessor has been developed. A licensed asbestos assessor will provide air quality monitoring during removal work, inspect the finished job and provide a clearance certificate. A licensed asbestos assessor will be required to assess Class A asbestos removal work from 2018 onwards.

Current Certificate of Competence holders will be able to continue removing asbestos (in the categories specified on their certificate), and supervise asbestos removal, until their certificate expires.

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Related Posts and Comments:
11.5.16 DCC DRAFT Annual Plan 2016/17 —Harden up, Council [survey budget]
10.4.16 DCC: Council meeting Mon 11 April at 1pm [DCC sites – see Comments]
25.11.15 Mayor Cull and the GREAT Asbestos Defeat ….trucks in toxic waste
27.1.10 Stadium: CST to clean up contaminated land
14.10.09 Questions about landfill charges + DCC reveals contaminated sites

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Election Year. This post is offered in the public interest.

Asbestos-cement roofing before and after cleaning [specialistroofcleaning.com]

Asbestorama: Asbestos-cement roof shingles [flickr.com]

Dunedin’s draft local alcohol policy (Lap) —submissions, real story outs

District licensing commissioner received direct reports of enticements to survey submitters.

### ODT Online Tue, 11 Nov 2014
Dunedin bars ‘offered punters cheap drinks to fill in surveys’
By Debbie Porteous
Dunedin bars offered punters cheap drinks to fill in surveys in support of licensees position against a draft liquor licensing policy for the city, Dunedin district licensing commissioner Colin Weatherall says. Mr Weatherall kicked off the first day of Lap hearings in Dunedin with the bombshell accusation.
Read more

Other ODT articles:
10.11.14 Fallout over liquor plan
8.11.14 Alcohol policy: Plenty to pore over
8.11.14 Portal use saves $10,000
6.11.14 Alcohol policy piques

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Dunedin City council – Media Release
Draft Local Alcohol Policy Hearings Underway

This item was published on 11 Nov 2014

Residents’ views on the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol in the community will be aired at hearings underway in Dunedin. Today is the first of seven days of public hearings on the Dunedin City Council’s draft Local Alcohol Policy, with the last day being Thursday, 4 December. About 280 people are scheduled to speak at the hearings. Two days have been set aside later in December for the Hearings Committee’s deliberations.

The Dunedin City Council’s draft Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) attracted 4262 submissions. Of these, 79% (3,382 submissions) were submitted on forms developed by Hospitality NZ and the Dunedin Inner City Licensing Forum, a group of inner city licensed premises. Of the remainder, 19% (789) were made by individuals and 2% (91) of submissions came from organisations and businesses representing the hospitality, retail, health, tertiary and social sectors, as well as the Police.

The draft LAP suggests a range of changes to current practices, including rules about how close new premises may be to places such as schools and early childhood centres, a one-way door policy from 1am, licensing footpath space outside licensed premises until 11pm and banning the serving of shots from midnight. Some of these proposed changes have been opposed by a range of submitters.

DCC General Manager Services and Development Simon Pickford says, “The purpose of the draft was to get a conversation going with the community and we’re really pleased that has happened. It’s important that all sectors of our community, from businesses to individuals, tell us their views as we work to establish what is acceptable to Dunedin residents in terms of the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol.”

Under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, the draft LAP must take into account issues such as the number of licences of each kind held for premises in its district, and the location and opening hours of each of the premises, the demography of residents and of tourists or holidaymakers who visit the district, the overall health indicators of the district’s residents and the nature and severity of the alcohol-related problems arising in the district.

Mr Pickford says, under the Act, the Hearings Committee is not able to take into account matters such as the economic impact of the suggested changes on businesses.

The membership of the Draft Local Alcohol Policy Hearings Committee is Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull (Chairperson) and Councillors Aaron Hawkins, Mike Lord, Jinty MacTavish, Neville Peat, Andrew Whiley and Lee Vandervis.

Mr Pickford says the Committee will make recommendations to the full Council which will make the final decision on the LAP.
For more details or to view the draft LAP submissions, visit http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/lapsubs.

Contact General Manager Services and Development on 03 477 4000.
DCC Link

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Dunedin City Council
Draft Local Alcohol Policy —Consultation Hearing details

Submissions closed: 10/10/2014
Hearing: 11, 12, 13, 19 Nov and 2, 3, 4 Dec 2014
Contact person: Kevin Mechen

The purpose of a Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) is to ensure that the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol occurs in a safe and responsible way and that any adverse effects are minimised. The intention is to create an enabling policy that reflects all community aspirations, but finding the balance between various interests is a challenge.

To view the submissions received go to the Draft Local Alcohol Policy submissions information page

● Draft Local Alcohol Policy Hearings Agenda
● Draft Local Alcohol Policy Hearings Speaking Times Listing
● Draft Local Alcohol Policy Report to Hearings Committee
● Schedule of breaks during Hearings Committee

Related documents:
Draft Local Alcohol Policy (PDF, 231.4 KB)
The purpose of a Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) is to ensure that the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol occurs in a safe and responsible way and that any adverse effects are minimised.

Summary of Background Information (PDF, 269.8 KB)
This policy is to be read in conjunction with the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 and the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Regulations 2013.

Local Alcohol Policy – Statement of Proposal (PDF, 187.3 KB)
This Statement of Proposal has been prepared to fulfil the requirements of sections 83 and 87 of the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA) and section 79 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 (the Act).

DCC Link

█ Ministry of Health | http://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/addictions/alcohol-and-drugs

█ NZ Drug Foundation | https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/alcohol

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin product innovation and production #doubleglazing

### ODT Online Mon, 7 Jul 2014
Retrofit double-glazing system catches on
By Sally Rae
A Dunedin-designed double-glazing system, which started as a concept drawn on a paper pie packet, is now being sold in Australia. Thermawood, a patented retrofit double-glazing system for existing timber joinery, was the brainchild of Graeme Clarke, whose background was both as a joiner and a glazier. The system was developed around drainage.
Read more

Website: Thermawood Otago

From the website: ‘An advanced double glazing system for existing timber joinery. A unique, patented double glazing system which has been approved and tested to building standard NZS4211:2008 the industry standard for weather-tightness for windows and doors. Experienced, skilled tradesmen ensure quality workmanship. Thermawood is proudly locally owned and operated from Dunedin, servicing the wider Otago region. All Thermawood materials are 100% NZ made and the Grandadapter is manufactured locally in Mosgiel. Thermawood Otago are also experienced in and offer – retrofitting aluminium windows and doors, double glazing, re-glazing, frameless glass showers, balustrades, painted glass splash-backs, mirrors, architectural glazing systems.’

Note: What if? Dunedin can’t endorse the product; we can confirm it’s a locally available building option.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: thermawoodotago.co.nz

Octagon mud

Council reaps us what it sows

It comes to pass that the CBD’s most-used symbolic gathering place, The Octagon, carrying a cluster of historic buildings, the city’s public art museum, our main performance theatre (Regent), a cinema multiplex under redevelopment, shop and office buildings, the Athenaeum building on the comeback through new stewardship, the impressive St Paul’s Cathedral, the stately Municipal Chambers and Town Hall complex, the seat of local government administration (Civic Centre), and a slightly down-at-heels landscaped wide open space at the junction of surveyor Charles Kettle’s two main arterial roads (Princes/George Streets and Stuart Street), also takes a bevy of drinking bars and night spots that make a strong contribution to central city nighttime violence, disorder, and lack of public safety.

The Craft Bar homicide and the connected serious assault investigations started last weekend point up the Dunedin City Council’s lack of urban design and planning vigilance in Health and Safety matters.

This tied to recent years of lobbying by the Octagon bar owners on licensing and trading hours and conditions, sometimes tied to hosting after-match wakes for Stadium sport and events (even although major events at the stadium are tapering, as predicted), unsupported youth, gang sqirmishes, under-resourced local police, and society’s access to cut-price alcohol and its liberal use (pre-loading and regular binging) alongside other substance abuse, means the Octagon is devolving into a hell-hole of collective making – not dissimilar to what happened at Cathedral Square in Christchurch before the quakes.

What will the city council do to mitigate the situation, and how soon can we restore the space to 24/7 safety for all? Is this even possible with the cluster of ‘intemperance’ bars and no push for building owners to move to greater diversity in mixed ground floor tenanting on the lower Octagon? One way or another “Party Central” has to fold – changing the pattern of ground tiles will not suffice.

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Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull speaks volumes when he says, at times, he does not feel comfortable near the Octagon.

ODT Editorial: Personal responsibility key (30.4.14)
Knowing Dunedin is one of the most statistically safest cities in New Zealand will bring no solace to the families involved in the tragic death of Ryan Court at the weekend. Read more

Related ODT stories:
30.4.14 Arrest after Octagon assault
30.4.14 Progress made in assault inquiry
29.4.14 ‘A good man’ mourned
29.4.14 Man hospitalised after Octagon assault
28.4.14 Bottle assault follows bar death
28.4.14 Names released after death at city bar
28.4.14 Arrest follows death at city bar
27.4.14 Man in custody over Octagon bar death

ODT ‘Booze Control: Stop and Think’ series:
Excessive drinking changes the way people act
30.1.14 Education fails, professor says
29.1.14 South’s alcohol statistics worst
28.1.14 Delicate balancing act over licensing
27.1.14 Still a ‘very safe community’
25.1.14 Time to clean up act over alcohol
25.1.14 The cold, naked truth about nightlife

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr