Lucky's Barber Shop opened in Dickson only four months ago and so far it's been anything but; the business was one of several shut out of its premises on Thursday due to asbestos concerns.
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WorkSafe ACT spent the day testing a commercial building, which is accessed by a laneway running off Woolley Street, after it was advised by a local business that asbestos fibres had been detected there.
''Tests conducted in the building have confirmed the presence of asbestos fibres, which we believe has come from the roof, which is constructed of material which includes compressed asbestos,'' Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe said.
He said continued use of the building could lead to a high risk of exposure to friable asbestos, and WorkSafe issued prohibition notices to several businesses in the affected building. One was the barber shop run by Lucky and Surasak Prommahorm, who because of the notice will lose their income for the second time since opening in September last year.
''We only started four months ago, then after two months the rain came and the ceiling [was] falling down, we had to close it for three weeks,'' Surasak Prommahorm said.
''We only just opened it for another five weeks, now it has to be shut down again. What can we say, it's quite a disaster … we've lost our income.''
Mr McCabe said in a statement the businesses had to cease operating immediately while WorkSafe ACT ''determines the appropriate steps to manage this situation''.
''WorkSafe ACT will also be investigating the circumstances which have led to this exposure to determine whether any parties have failed to meet their work health and safety obligations under ACT legislation.''
The agency was working with the building owner, tenants and other government agencies to fix the problem, but tenants have not yet been given a timeframe for when they might be able to reopen.
Lucky Prommahorm will have to cancel her upcoming appointments, with the couple reconsidering their future. ''We can't go on like this … stop and go, stop and go - it's not [good] business,'' she said.
''I think we probably have to talk to the landlord and say we can't continue our contract any more; we have to look for somewhere else,'' Mr Prommahorm said.
