Fires in Crown Paints warehouses haven’t triggered the release of asbestos, fire brigade says

Fires at the old Crown Paints warehouse complex on Malahide Road haven’t triggered the release of asbestos into the air, an official at Dublin Fire Brigade said on Tuesday.

“The location, extent and nature of these fires has not raised concerns regarding the release of asbestos into the community,” said an email to Social Democrats Councillor Jesslyn Henry.

Last week, the old Crown Paints warehouses on Malahide Road – where the government has said it plans to house around 550 people seeking asylum – were set on fire four times.

Five of the seven buildings have asbestos roofs, says an estate agent’s brochure.

Neal Christopher, the director of the consultancy firm Asbestos Safe, said he has been tracking the fires as they unfolded because he knows the site and that it holds asbestos.

If fires do shatter any asbestos cement sheets, it is wise to monitor the air for potential contamination to ensure safety, he said. “A survey of the surrounding areas should also be conducted to see if there is contamination to the wider community.”

The asbestos roofs also mean that before any revamp, the site would need a refurbishment demolition asbestos survey, he said, which covers both refurbs and knock downs.

“This survey will assess the condition of any Asbestos Containing Materials within the site and determine how works may proceed,” he said.

On Friday, a spokesperson for the Department of Children and Equality said that it had hired an experienced external provider to prepare the site. “Subject to it meeting all of the relevant regulatory requirements.”

The provider entered the site earlier in the week to start works, which it expects to take several weeks, the spokesperson said.

They said International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) will only move asylum seekers into the site once it meets its standards.

“Criminality, vandalism and violence are not protest and can’t be allowed to prevail in our communities, disrupt our neighbours and impede the work of essential public services,” the spokesperson said.

The fires

The first fire at Crown Paints was on Monday 15 July, when an anti-immigrant blockade outside the buildings, which had lingered there for more than three months, was dismantled.

Construction machinery was set alight, said Dublin Fire Brigade.

Gardaí later said in a press statement that its officers faced verbal and physical abuse “which escalated into rocks, fireworks and other objects being launched towards them”.

Fires were lit, and Garda cars were damaged, it says.

“As the situation intensified, members of An Garda Síochána used force to defend themselves as part of an escalated response to the situation,” says the statement.

Members of the Coolock Says No group had called for back-up to try to restore the blockade, posting falsely that single men seeking asylum had arrived at the site. “Get down there people…no women and children all male,” one post said.

Gardaí say they arrested 15 people that day.

The second fire was on Thursday, 18 July. The fire brigade said it had blazed the lobby area, and they put it out.

Between Friday and Sunday, the building lit up again and again. Dublin Fire Brigade hasn’t said which parts were affected during these later fires.

Meanwhile, members of “Says No” groups continue to gather at the site on Malahide Road.

On Tuesday morning, around 7am, three people were already standing before the tall cement barricades in front of the vacant warehouses.

The barricades behind them were covered in racist graffiti, like “Get them out”, “Irish Only”, “Rapists” and “Peados”, alongside “IRA” and “fuck da guards”.

The risks

Asbestos cement sheets are solid and tolerate elevated temperatures well, says Christopher, the director of Asbestos Safe.

For them to crumble, “it takes quite high temperatures”, he said. Once that happens though, they can release hazardous fibres into the air, he said.

If proper removal procedures aren’t followed, they continue to fracture, making things worse, he said. “And it’s the local community that is going to suffer.”

Asbestos fibres are most risky to human health when inhaled, he said.

The Health and Safety Authority suggests that prolonged exposure can cause serious respiratory ailments, said Christopher.

But it’s unclear what that amounts to in practice, he said. “There’s no safe level that’s determined by legislation or by the Health and Safety Authority.”

On Friday, a Health and Safety Authority spokesperson directed queries about the Coolock site and the fires to the council.

A spokesperson for the council did not respond to queries sent on Friday including about any measures it’s taking to mitigate the risk, given the threat of further fires.

Christopher said that if asbestos fibres impact someone’s health, it won’t manifest until years later. “Diseases only appear after a latency period between 10 to 40 years.”

He doesn’t want to scare the public, he says, and depending on various factors like the building’s condition, the risk is probably medium if the asbestos sheets on the Coolock sites end up damaged at some point.

“We just don’t know the quantity of the fibres that are going to be released, depends on the wind, depends on how far they travel, how badly damaged the sheeting is on the roof,” he said.

Without proper inspection or official information, he couldn’t really say, he said.