Asbestos remediation work is getting underway at QEII Park from Monday 21 November as Christchurch City council prepares the site for a busy period of development.
Asbestos-containing material, made up mostly of pipe fragments, was discovered during demolition of the earthquake-damaged QEII Stadium in 2012. Since then, it has been safely contained on the site while the council developed the best approach to remediating it.
“With QEII Park soon to be the home of some major community facilities, including the QEII Recreation and Sport Centre and the relocated Avonside Girls’ and Shirley Boys’ High Schools, the time has come to carry out a safe and permanent solution,” says David East, coastal ward councillor.
After all the material has been sorted and processed, the asbestos-containing material left over will be removed in covered, plastic-lined bins by an approved transport contractor. These bins will then be taken to approved landfills such as Kate Valley and Hororata.
“The methodology we’re using is tried and tested – removing the material from the site altogether will certainly be the community’s preference,” Mr East says. “The team is working under strict controls and will be live-monitoring the air, which massively reduces the risk of even the tiniest particle leaving the site. The process has a history of safety and success here in Christchurch and overseas, and we hope to have everything completed onsite in February 2017.”
Finally, the site will be checked and levelled-out with soil to make it ready for future landscaping work and sports field development. Nearby residents are receiving notices about the work.
