Overview
The Opera House is smack bang in the middle of a $200 million renovation right now, but the action has ground to a halt because of the detection of asbestos. The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) has enforced a ban on work on starting Monday, July 31, after discovering the carcinogenic stuff in a duct.
"The ETU was notified on Friday, and has since discovered that almost all of [the] electricians working on the Opera House renovation have not been trained in asbestos awareness and working with asbestos procedures," reads an official statement by Stewart Edwards and Antony Stegic, ETU organisers.
The electricians were employed by Downer, a contractor working with Laing O'Rourke, an international engineering company. According to the ETU, both businesses received results on Wednesday confirming the presence of asbestos, but "did not report this safety incident to SafeWork NSW as a notifiable incident". The organisation has advised employees to refuse to work on all troffers, risers and penetrations, and called for new risk assessments, as well as training and supply of "full personal protective equipment".
We contacted a spokesperson for the Opera House, who told Concrete Playground, "The Opera House is committed to providing a safe environment for our staff, patrons and visitors. We are working closely with Laing O'Rourke as the principal contractor to investigate the matter and to ensure their work site is safe and compliant with the Asbestos Management Plan."
It's clearly a big, public blow to the reno plans, which at this stage will be on hold for an unforeseen duration of time. However, the Opera House spokesperson seems confident they can address the issue.
"Like thousands of buildings around the country built around this time, the Opera House has strict processes in place to monitor and manage the presence of asbestos-containing materials," they said.
Given that the Opera House was built between 1959 and 1973, the presence of asbestos is actually not surprising — as unsettling as that sounds. That said, it clearly needs to be removed and better managed. No one wants to be inhaling carcinogens when they head to their next fancy gig under the sails.