Edinburgh Council launch asbestos probe

Published on Fri 29 Feb 2008

A £1.9 million investigation has been launched to assess the presence of asbestos in all council-owned properties. The investigation follows a Health and Safety Executive improvement notice and there is the possibility that if appropriate action is not taken then the local authority could be liable to legal action.

City development director Andrew Holmes said:

"Given the requirements, there is an urgent need for a major one-off survey of operational property to obtain current electronic plans and survey information.

"It is proposed that initial survey work commence during 2008/09 with completion in 2009/10. Given the size and value of the exercise, earlier completion is impractical.

"On completion of this work, all plans held on the database would be checked and updated, following alteration, on an annual basis."