A derelict field in Naxxar which has been used to dump scrap that includes asbestos pipes has had enforcement action pending for 10 years, despite the hazard.

Residents are concerned about the danger posed by the asbestos which is still there several months after it was flagged to the authorities.

The Naxxar local council reported the matter to the Planning Authority in January but the pipes were still there last week.

Mayor Anne Marie Muscat Fenech Adami said everyone knew the damage exposure to asbestos could cause so she expected the authorities to deal with the matter with utmost urgency.

The large site in Triq Dun Gorg Fiteni, measuring more than 1,000 square metres, has been subject to a planning authority enforcement notice since 2009.

Although it is cordoned off with a perimeter wall, the site is still accessible and the asbestos pipes are completely exposed, with all the danger that this entails.

A Planning Authority spokesman confirmed that the site had an enforcement notice issued and that the owner had been given a deadline to clear the material, which includes vehicles and tower crane equipment, concrete blocks, pipes, scrap metal and other materials.

“Further to your query kindly note that there is an active enforcement notice on site (EC369/09). The PA is considering the options available to remove the infringement.

“However, in view of the presence of asbestos on site, its removal requires the engagement of authorised contractors to handle such materials and requires the programming of some logistics,” the spokesman said when asked what action was being taken by the authority to remove the danger.

PA chairman Johann Buttigieg recently told the council that the site was on the PA’s priority list. He said the owner, listed in the authority’s website as John Mary Vella, had been given a deadline, which expired almost three weeks ago.

According to information on the PA enforcement notice, the case is pending direct action by the authority.