Things have gone from bad to worse for residents of Carrington College’s Dawson House. In July, flooding forced them to relocate to Toroa. Asbestos discovered under soggy tiles made them stay there. Adorning a metaphoric hazmat suit, Critic stepped in to assess the situation.
A few weeks ago, one of Carrington College’s houses, Dawson House, flooded. From the three-storied building, tauira on the top two floors ended their Re-O Week with a relocation into temporary accommodation down the hill at Toroa College. But that wasn’t the last issue for the freshers in Dawson, when residents found out that flooding had exposed asbestos underneath the floor in some areas of the house.
Director of Campus and Collegiate Life Services James Lindsay confirmed the bad news to Critic. “However, it was fully encapsulated underneath the [floor covering], meaning
it is completely sealed within a protective barrier and was not releasing fibres into the air,” he assured. Therefore, there was no health and safety risk posed to any residents or staff involved, since asbestos is only dangerous when it’s disturbed and breathed in.
Carrington resident, Raymond* heard about the asbestos sighting while still relegated to Toroa. “While [the asbestos] was covered I think it was fine,” Raymond explained, “but when it was revealed and untreated there was then an issue.” He explained that the removal didn’t prevent residents from being able to retrieve any of their belongings, but had delayed the second floor residents from returning as soon as they were supposed to from their temporary digs at Toroa College. However, he felt that communication “had been pretty good from staff to residents” and he didn’t really get the ruckus about it all.
James Lindsay told Critic that temporarily relocating some residents was done as a “precaution” as soon as asbestos was identified, and prior to any remedial work being undertaken. The asbestos was then removed by a licensed, professional asbestos contractor (#dreamjob). “During the removal process, air samples were taken to ensure no fibres had become airborne. This was confirmed after completion as well,” he said. The site has since been certified to be safe for occupancy.
Two other Carrington residents aired dissatisfaction with how the discovery was initially communicated: a sign cautioning ‘Possible Asbestos’. Mandy* told Critic that she had originally found the sign funny, but not so much when it said ‘Confirmed Asbestos’ about a week and a half later. “Our only source of information was the signs,” Mandy said. “Someone went to talk to the wardens during a student rep meeting about it.”
About a day later, residents received an email which would allegedly be the first piece of communication regarding the asbestos. Roughly five days later, a group of people showed up in hazmat gear to remove the asbestos, which only caused their “anxiety to worsen". While James did not confirm this timeline of events, he did say, “All Dawson residents received an email on 11 August confirming that the asbestos clearance certificate was received on 7 August.” Apart from the asbestos, Mandy recognises that Carrington handled it “pretty well” and “it wasn’t their fault it happened in the first place”.
Residents were compensated with TimTams for their troubles, which Mandy seemed a bit miffed by (despite TimTams costing an arm and a leg in this economy). Instead, she reckoned relocated residents shouldn’t have had to pay for the weeks they lived in Toroa. Lindsay responded, “No. All students continued to receive all services and support from Carrington College in a safe and secure location for a short period of time.” Toroa is pretty nice, actually.
As of recently though, the second floor residents have finally been moved back into Carrington. Huzzah!
*Name changed.