Alternatives to asbestos pipes sought by board

Press, 5 August 1983, Page 5

Alternatives to asbestos pipes sought by board

A call to look for alternatives to asbestos cement pipes has been made by the Christchurch Drainage Board. A meeting of the board’s operations and services committee yesterday decided to ask staff to investigate the possibility of cement pipe manufacturers making every size of pipe available in a non-asbestos material. A possible health hazard caused the Labourers’ Union to put a ban on its members cutting asbestos cement pipes last month. Supervisory staff had taken over the work, using a pressure method recommended by the Health Department, the meeting was aM Mr M. J. Dobson said he concerned that any cutting was being done at all, even though staff were willing to do it. “We should be looking for alternative materials. Do we have to use asbestos pipes?” The chief engineer, Mr H. P. Hunt, said that some sized pipes were available only in asbestos cement. With the advent of asbestos, the production of concrete

spun pipes had ceased, and some companies dealt only with asbestos from then on as it seemed to be the most suitable material.

“We can’t get away without using some asbestos pipes at the moment — they have to be used for repair jobs on already existing pipelines.” he said.

Mr Hunt said that until now the staff had not been complying with the full safety requirements stipulated by the Health Department.

The regulations were “extremely tough” and it was unlikely that staff had used all the safety equipment available.

They had stopped using the undesirable method of cutting, the disc method, which was only one of many methods used. Mr J. G. Freeman said he found it astonishing that businesses had known about the possible dangers of asbestos for at least five years, but it took a television programme and an article in the “Listener” to get them to do anything about it. “Our officials should insist that the staff use the proper safety equipment,”

he said. The biggest problem was the attitude that it was “sissy” to use safety equipment, Mr R. S. Leach told the meeting. “The demand that the men use equipment has been an issue at all union meetings. What more do we do to enforce it?” “I would rather the union officials make their men use the equipment than us tell them.”

Mr Hunt said that more information about methods of cutting and the use of safety equipment was due from the Health Department any day.

The chairman of the board, Mr C. H. Russell, said people were getting “too emotive” over the whole asbestos issue. “Should the board sack all people who smoke?” he said. “That is bad for the health too.”

A lot of areas within the board’s work were dangerous, and that work was respected and treated appropriately. In this case, if the staff were working to the regulations of the Labour and Health departments, the board should respect it.