Asbestos found at flat in Croydon
BY WILL NEA
toby@slpmedia.co.uk
A heavily pregnant woman is fuming after asbestos was found in her flat.
Amanda, whose name has been changed for legal reasons, fears scores of other families could be inhaling potentially toxic dust from the material.
She claims that after it was removed from her bathroom, at least two other residents discovered it in their homes on the Gillett Road Estate in Croydon.
The asbestos was discovered in the ceiling above Amanda’s bathtub during renovation work. The presence of the material was verified by an independent testing company, but Amanda was not told until a week later.
She said residents received a letter on September 13 saying that consultations about the state of their properties had been scheduled for the end of the month, ahead of possible works. Interviews were then cancelled the following week.
Amanda was told she would be required at the premises while the removal took place, although she was 39 weeks pregnant at the time and already has a four-year-old daughter. She said her bathroom had been in disrepair since she moved into her flat in 2014.
Her tenancy agreement states that upkeep is her responsibility, but she submitted an official complaint and request for relocation earlier this year after ceiling tiles fell into her bath.
The council responded 12 weeks later and renovation began on June 25, leaving the pregnant woman and her daughter without toilet facilities for a week.
She said: “At the time I had no idea how dangerous asbestos really was.
“If I had known I would never have stayed in the house while they carried out the work.
It has been a complete nightmare and I can’t help feeling like I’ve failed my daughters, trying to keep them safe even though the asbestos will have been disturbed by the work before it was discovered.”
A Croydon council spokesman said: “When asbestos needs to be removed from council flats, we follow strict safety procedures that mean there is no risk to residents.
In this case, our specialist contractors found some low-grade damaged asbestos during a bathroom repair.
“They removed it and tested the flat to make sure it met air quality standards, and reassured the tenant that the flat was safe to live in.”