The Health and Safety Authority has ruled that demolition of the Ballymun flats complex in north Dublin can not go ahead because the method proposed could expose workers and the local population to lethal asbestos particles.
The authority's ruling, announced yesterday, may delay the demolition of the seven Ballymun towers by up to four years and add €120 million to the €2.5 billion cost of the Ballymun Regeneration project.
Announcing its decision, the authority said asbestos represents a class one carcinogen and the method of removal proposed by Ballymun Regeneration Ltd (BRL) could release airborne particles which pose a threat to the health of 20,000 people in the locality, as well as the workers on the project.
The regeneration of Ballymun is the largest project of its kind in Europe and has already seen 600 families rehoused in low-rise accommodation, while a further 900 are to be accommodated over the coming six years.
Three of the seven towers are now empty but as yet none has been demolished.
Demolition was to get under way this spring, but work was delayed when asbestos was discovered in decorative wall and ceiling coverings.
Two methods of removal were proposed. The authority wanted the asbestos coatings removed from the walls and ceilings before the buildings were demolished, while BRL suggested that removing walls and ceilings with the asbestos intact was a potentially safer method.
BRL offered to test both methods under controlled conditions but the authority said it was not prepared to "experiment" with people's health.
However, The Irish Times has learnt that the authority's ruling also brings it into conflict with the Government, which had discussed the problem at a recent Cabinet meeting.
The Attorney General had advised the Cabinet to seek an independent risk assessment of both methods, which it is understood was agreed.
Sources indicated that the decision was to be announced "within weeks".
However, speaking at a press conference yesterday morning, the chief executive of the Health and Safety Authority, Mr Tom Beegan, said "the authority must insist on compliance with the legal requirements".
Mr Beegan said the authority was requiring nothing more than "common practice in the industry and throughout Europe". He said "the method proposed by BRL to remove the asbestos is legally unacceptable because it contravenes legal requirements and offers a lesser level of protection than that required by international best practice".
However the junior minister with responsibility for housing and urban renewal, Mr Noel Ahern, who is also a TD for the area, said he was "surprised" by the authority's announcement. Mr Ahern previously said the authority was being "too dogmatic" in its attitude and also said it was well known that moves were being made behind the scenes to resolve the problem.
While he said nobody wanted to endanger anyone, it was his understanding that BRL and the city council had "a number of highly monitored trials, so that risk assessment could be based on practical assessment and scientific tests".
A community worker in Ballymun, Mr Oliver McGlinchey, said locals were very concerned the impasse could delay the rehousing programme.
"There are flats where the coatings are hanging from the ceilings, why bring it up now when people are waiting to move? The people around here believe they are caught up in a row that is not really about them."
