[font=Verdana]Australia[/font][font=Verdana] - WORKCOVER has shut down demolition activities at the former Supertex site after allegedly discovering asbestos being removed from the site in an "unsatisfactory manner." [/font]

[font=Verdana]The authority closed the site and issued the former owner, Peter Felemegas, and the demolition company with a prohibition notice ordering them to secure the site late on Tuesday. [/font]

[font=Verdana]No fine has been issued at this stage. [/font]

[font=Verdana]A spokesperson for WorkCover claimed on Wednesday that the demolition crew had broken up some asbestos from buildings in the former Chantry St Textile factory and mixed it with rubble in breach of regulations. [/font]

[font=Verdana]However, other asbestos was found in complete sheets. [/font]

[font=Verdana]He said officers discovered the alleged breach when they visited the complex on Tuesday and it was necessary for WorkCover to "catch people in the act" in order to take action. [/font]

[font=Verdana]No further work can proceed at the site until Mr. Felemegas engages a licensed hygienist to take samples, complete an audit and submit a comprehensive report to WorkCover. The authority must be satisfied that it is safe for work to proceed and that asbestos will be disposed of correctly by a licensed operator, according to the spokesperson. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Yesterday the authority was waiting to hear back from the hygienist about the type and quantity of asbestos found and whether it posed a public health risk. [/font]

[font=Verdana]However Goulburn Mulwaree Council's planning and community services director Chris Berry said that all asbestos, if not handled properly was a risk to public health. [/font]

[font=Verdana]"It is well documented that if fibers are inhaled, it becomes an issue. But if it is stable, and not fibrous, it shouldn't cause damage to anyone," he said. [/font]

[font=Verdana]People have been working at the site over the past few months and locals have also bought excess building materials at reduced rates from the company. [/font]

[font=Verdana]The fact that the material had been broken up made the clean-up a "more "complicated process," the WorkCover spokesperson said. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Built before the Second World War as a mill, several Supertex buildings contain asbestos, a potentially fatal material if broken up and humans breathe in dispersed fibers. Strict controls therefore surround its removal and disposal. [/font]

[font=Verdana]Mr. Felemegas maintained the breach notice was not for improperly removing asbestos, but for the fact a "small quantity" of fibro was found smashed up with brickwork on site. [/font]

[font=Verdana]"Basically we are going by what the professional people are advising and the hygienist tells me it is not a big problem and the site should be re-opened in a few days. We are happy to work with WorkCover on this," he said. [/font]

[font=Verdana]He believed that if asbestos had been handled and removed improperly, staff at Goulburn's waste depot would have detected it and his costs would have skyrocketed as a result. He speculated that vandals, rather than the demolition company could have been responsible. [/font]

[font=Verdana]It has also emerged that Mr. Felemegas, who last June won conditional council approval for Supertex's demolition, changed demolition crews in January after a dispute with a Bowral company, but did not inform Goulburn Mulwaree Council. [/font]

[font=Verdana]The council's planning and community services director Chris Berry said this in itself was a breach of conditions. [/font]

[font=Verdana]He was also concerned that any breach of WorkCover conditions governing asbestos removal posed a public risk. [/font]

[font=Verdana]WorkCover's move came just one day after the authority declared it had no evidence that asbestos was being handled in an illegal manner, after visiting the site several times in response to local residents' concerns and standard checks. [/font]

[font=Verdana]A spokesperson said on Tuesday that the authority did not have any concerns because work was not going on when officers visited.[/font]