The contractor at the centre of last year's asbestos scare at a Fyshwick auction house has been cleared by the territory's building regulator to work with the deadly substance again. But he remains under investigation by WorkCover over the incident.
The Construction Occupations Registrar announced yesterday that it was returning contractor Frank Gatto's asbestos removalist's licence, which had been suspended since soon after the incident in October at the Pickles Auction House.
Mr Gatto's company, Australasian Technical Services, had been removing asbestos from the Pickles Auction House when traces of the potentially deadly substance were released into the air.
The scare erupted on October 9 when WorkCover was called to Pickles Auction House after calls from the Construction, Forestry, Energy and Mining Union, which alleged that up to 12 workers had been on the roof of Pickles removing asbestos, without full protective gear, and with customers and staff nearby.
Testing later revealed that asbestos had been at the site and hundreds of staff and customers were advised to seek medical attention, although the ACT Government said the risk of exposure was low.
The safety authority approved a clean-up of material in and around the site that began on January 6, but replacement of the building's roof and wall sheeting would not begin until ATS could satisfy WorkCover that its methods were now safe.
For more on this story, see today's Canberra Times.
Email a friend