Information has now emerged from UN documents on the asbestos issue at the Suva Civic Centre where it says that it is worth noting that there has been a lot of hype on social media unfortunately instigated by a junior staff member of an organization who released poor and incorrect information.
The UN assessment states that this poor and incorrect information has been shared and retweeted by several bodies and groups causing undue concern in Suva.
The document states that all UN agencies located in Suva are well clear of any contamination, threat and risk to staff in their office locations and/or in the vicinity of the Suva Civic Centre hall being contaminated by asbestos material involved with the Suva Civic Centre renovation work.
This assessment for the UN was made by experts and released to the UN offices today.
Meanwhile Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations Jone Usamate will make a further statement on the asbestos at the Suva Civic Centre this afternoon.
Three banks, restaurants and other outlets were closed in Suva in light of the asbestos contamination at the Suva Civic Centre today.
ANZ, Westpac and HFC Bank closed their main branches today.
Usamate has stated that works at the Suva Civic Centre building by SCC contractors have ceased from Wednesday afternoon by the National Occupational Health and Safety Service for SCC and their contractors to improve safe work procedures on asbestos material removal.
Usamate says this follows the release of the assessment report from Pacifica Environmental Services and Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP) recently.
The Minister specifically stressed that the asbestos identified in the SPREP report received on Wednesday contains 30 per cent of asbestos from the bulk material tested on the ground and is not airborne.
The Employment Minister says SCC has also been directed to hire a consultant to immediately undertake air sampling inside the building and areas close to the Suva Civic Centre.
This is to ensure that the surrounding does not contain any hazardous material in the air.
He advises the general public not to panic as the chances of air contamination is low due to containment works already undertaken and other materials which may contain asbestos are still intact and poses no threat, refrain from travelling through Town Hall Road or near the vicinity of the Suva Civic Centre, and close monitoring will be done by the Employment Ministry in consultation with SCC, contractors and the consultants involved.
SODELPA Youth Forum President Jope Koroisavou has today raised his concerns on the asbestos contamination risk.
Yesterday, SODELPA Party Leader Sitiveni Rabuka questioned the government’s silence on the issue until yesterday afternoon.
Earlier today, Koroisavou and members of the SODELPA Youth Forum handed out face masks to commuters at the Suva Bus Stand and in central Suva.
The SODELPA Youth President says he is very angry that parents were not advised of the grave dangers posed by what he calls the laxity of due diligence by the Minister.
He says he fully endorses the sentiments and recommendations for remedial action by SODELPA Leader Sitiveni Rabuka for the government to take all necessary precautions to protect the public, ban the import of all asbestos laden construction materials, audit all buildings that may have asbestos, that all loan and grant agreements for building and construction include a ban on asbestos laden construction materials being brought into Fiji, and that all construction companies comply with the audit to identify all buildings which may contain asbestos.
According to the NSW Government website, people who get health problems from inhaling asbestos have usually been exposed to high levels of asbestos for a long time.
The symptoms of these diseases do not usually appear until about 20 to 30 years after the first exposure to asbestos.
Asbestos fibres can pose a risk to health if airborne, as inhalation is the main way that asbestos enters the body. Small quantities of asbestos fibres are present in the air at all times, and are being breathed by everyone without any ill effects.
The NSW government states that most people are exposed to very small amounts of asbestos as they go about their daily lives and do not develop asbestos related health problems.
The ANZ Bank is arranging their own asbestos specialists to attend the site this weekend and conduct air quality testing and sampling where appropriate to ensure the integrity of their site has not been compromised.
A spokesperson from the bank says they made the decision to vacate ANZ House as a precautionary measure until such time as they can ensure the safety of their staff and customers.
The spokesperson says all impacted staff are now working from alternative sites, including their operations office in Kalabu, other branches or from home where possible.
They will continue to assess the situation and make a decision on when to reopen ANZ House as more information comes to hand.
