Sponsored by
'Asbestos timebomb'
Anger at shock discovery on former hospital site
exclusive
by Geoff Fox
DEADLY asbestos has been discovered at a building site where a Leeds hospital stood.
The cancer-causing substance has been found at the site of the former Killingbeck Hospital, which is being turned into a multi-million pound housing development.
It was discovered in what used to be the hospital cellars and has raised grave concerns about how demolition was handled by the site's previous owners, NHS Estates, and their demolition contractors James Gill Ltd of Leeds.
The discovery of Asbestolux, which contains the highly dangerous brown asbestos, has triggered serious health fears in the local community. The site was a popular haunt for children in the eight years since demolition work.
Just a single fibre can cause asbestosis, mesothelioma or lung cancer.
Steve Ford of Killingbeck Conservation Group has spent years on the site, which Shepherd Homes bought recently from the NHS with a view to building 400 homes and flats.
He said: "It's beyond words. This might well be what kills me. I have been all over that site studying the ecology and archaeology. This has been a ticking time bomb. I can't believe how it can happen on this scale."
Work on a large section of the site has ground to a halt and fencing has been put around the area, with asbestos warning notices placed at intervals.
But security is woefully inadequate, with the public able to stroll into the 'secure' area unchallenged and walk up to the polythene sheets covering the deadly substance and which are clearly marked 'asbestos'.
Local councillor Michael Davey said: "I'm disturbed by this. It seems like a lackadaisical approach to a very serious matter. I think the local community will need a great deal of reassurance that their health has not been put in jeopardy."
A Shepherd Homes spokesman confirmed a quantity of asbestos had been found but claimed there was no risk to public health.
He said suitable measures of isolation and protection had been employed and said workers were not having to take special precautions.
However, the YEP understands from construction sources that workers entering the secure area have to shower on site at the end of each day with the water then taken away by lorry.
The Shepherd's spokesman added: "Work at the Killingbeck site has been unaffected."
It will cost tens of thousands of pounds to clear the asbestos, although Shepherd Homes have refused to say who will foot the bill.
A spokesman for the site's former owners, NHS Estates, confirmed they had launched an investigation adding: "NHS Estates is satisfied that it carried out its duty of care over and above its obligations to ensure the safe and controlled demolition of the former Killingbeck Hospital site."
Tim Gill, a director with James Gill Ltd, said: "An independent survey was done by the NHS and we worked to that. We took it (the asbestos) out and removed it all. Some ducting had to stay in as there were live pipes coming in from Seacroft Hospital. So all that (asbestos removal) had to stop until the NHS decided what they were going to do."
Mr Gill added it was likely the asbestos found was used as lagging around steam pipes which run under York Road and connected the Killingbeck and Seacroft hospitals.
A Leeds City Council spokesman said: "If the landowner does not resolve the issue and the asbestos is regarded as a statutory nuisance the council will not hesitate to serve a legal notice to the landowner requiring them to remove the asbestos."
An Environment Agency spokesman confirmed they were investigating, and said: "The current owner has a duty to ensure the asbestos is safely and legally disposed of."
He added that the agency was now appealing for information on how the asbestos came to be on the site. The agency hotline is 0800 807060.
geoff.fox@ypn.co.uk
Email to a friend
Print this page- Politics: Mark Hookham's Westminster blog - 5.33pm
- Castleford RSPB Fairburn Ings: High wire act Swallows’ summer parade
- Worker dies on North Yorkshire Moors Railway
- Video: Restaurant reopens on Leeds Harry Ramsden’s site after £500,000 refit
- Chocolat author will tempt guests at Leeds Big Bookend Festival
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
