黑洞社区

The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has given new details of Parliament鈥檚 efforts to combat its massive asbestos problem.

Parliament鈥檚 asbestos dangers first hit the national news in 2008, after a report leaked to Clinica magazine and the Guardian disclosed 鈥渟ignificant dangers鈥� to 鈥渁ll persons鈥� from exposure to the carcinogenic substance in the Victorian-built Houses of Parliament.

黑洞社区 asked Bercow - who is ultimately responsible for the upkeep of the parliamentary estate - how he was tackling the ongoing issue at the NFB annual conference last month.

Responding on his behalf, Commons staff revealed parliament has this year appointed Redhill Analysts as an asbestos consultant and defended the recent management of the asbestos problem.

The management has been criticised by Goddard Consulting, which produced the 2008 report.

Founder Ted Goddard said that the presence of asbestos in parliament was the most extensive he鈥檇 seen in his career, out of the 鈥渉undreds鈥� of buildings he had surveyed.
But John Borley, House of Commons board member for facilities management, said he disagreed with Goddard鈥檚 assessment of the extent of the asbestos risk.

Borley said that parliament had a 鈥渨atertight鈥� policy of containment and had been given a clean bill of health by the Health and Safety Executive. He added: 鈥淚t would be a problem if we didn鈥檛 manage it.鈥�

A spokesperson for parliament said: 鈥淭he speaker as chair of the House of Commons Commission is kept regularly informed about major developments regarding the House of Commons estate.

鈥淲e estimate that in the last four years, up to 1,000 routine air quality tests have been performed around the parliamentary estate with not one test conclusively proving the presence of asbestos above [the limit of detection].

鈥淭his is a complex area where professional opinions may differ.鈥�