A senior bureaucrat has defended WorkSafe ACT's air monitoring policies during Mr Fluffy demolitions, after the ACT auditor-general blasted their record keeping practices earlier this year.
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ACT auditor-general Maxine Cooper said no air quality monitoring results were received for the sites she reviewed in 2016, as part of a scathing audit of the loose-fill asbestos demolition program.
But Access Canberra deputy-director general Dave Peffer told an assembly committee hearing on Tuesday the results weren't on file because they are held by an independent assessor.
"The regulations require there is air monitoring on every demolition site for the Mr Fluffy program," Mr Peffer said.
But due to the number of reports, WorkSafe decided it would be double-handling if its inspectors also reviewed them.
"My understanding is the number of reports to date is in the region of 175,000, possibly more, so the volume of reports coming in every single day, from every single site is enormous," Mr Peffer said.
"Recognising that there these independent parties independently reviewing every positive report every single day, we took a decision that was a sufficient safeguard to ensure if fibres were detected it would be picked up immediately and work stopped.
"With the volume that's coming through on a daily basis, already independently assured, we took a decision that the asbestos assessors were employed to undertake that role, it wasn't a role our inspectors needed to duplicate throughout the demolition program."
The air monitoring reports are checked daily by the independent assessor.
If any levels are found to be above a reading 0.02 fibres/ml, work must be stopped and WorkSafe notified.
"On one occasion that did occur, there were fibres identified, work was immediately ceased, the sample was sent away and it was discovered that it was just chipboard not asbestos," Mr Peffer said.
However Liberal leader Alistair Coe questioned the accessibility of the air monitoring data given it was held independently.
Mr Peffer admitted it took more than a week to pull up files in early January because people were on holidays.
"If we were to call today, I'd have every confidence we'd have it in 24 hours," Mr Peffer said.
The ACT's annual reports hearings continue on Wednesday.
