An asbestos waste storage facility in Magħtab is being investigated by the authorities over its storage of the hazardous material for a period longer than the permitted 12 months.

The Environment Resources Authority confirmed to The Sunday Times of Malta that it is investigating the Green Skips waste facility for breaching its IPPC permit. Integration Pollution Prevention and Control permits are issued to high-risk installations.

Green Skips Limited managing director Mary Gaerty confirmed when contacted on Saturday that a “small amount” of asbestos had been stored at her facility longer than the permitted time window due to difficulties encountered when exporting it to a facility overseas.

“There is a huge problem in Europe because there are only a number of facilities which can take this hazardous waste and only a few local companies willing to transport it. We’ve had problems on both fronts,” she said.

She explained that the asbestos waste had been ready for export, with transport booked and a notification sent to ERA, when the transporter “backed out”. The company, she said, had not at first managed to find an alternative local transporter willing to carry the hazardous waste.

When a local service provider was eventually found, the German facility where the asbestos was going to be taken informed the company they were full and asked it to check availability again in the first quarter of 2020.

“There is a huge problem with asbestos all over Europe. There are only a few facilities and these are filling up fast,” Ms Gaerty said.

Health risks

Asbestos was once regarded as a miracle mineral fibre and used in a wide range of materials installed in homes and offices.

Experts believe that Malta has thousands of cubic metres of asbestos still installed in buildings. The vast majority of people living in them are unaware of it.  Households still have asbestos water tanks as well as asbestos drainpipes lining the façade of buildings. The material was also extensively used for flooring, in wallboards and in corrugated roofs.

There are only a number of facilities which can take this hazardous waste and only a few local companies willing to transport it

Health risks from asbestos arise when it is damaged or disturbed,  causing microscopic fibres to become airborne. When inhaled, tiny asbestos fibres penetrate deep inside the lungs and chest cavity. They can also enter the body via the digestive system through ingestion.

Asbestos results in conditions known collectively as ‘asbestosis’, which include lung cancer. There is a latency period of 20 to 30 years between exposure to hazards and the development of the disease.

The number of asbestos removal service providers has increased considerably over the last few years but not all of them know how to remove the hazardous material in a way that causes the least harm for the persons tasked with the job as well as those around them.

Ms Gaerty confirmed that this was something that worried her. “When I have a job, I usually get experts from Italy and France to do it because they are fully qualified and I can put my mind at rest that they can go a good job,” she said.

Lack of enforcement

Oliver Fenech, the managing director of PT Matic Environmental  Services, a company that offers asbestos removal, storage and export services, was equally concerned about the situation.

“We are extremely concerned about the lack of enforcement when it comes to the removal and disposal of asbestos,” he said when contacted.

“Many are the cases where contractors remove and dispose of their asbestos waste illegally and with no regard to safety and to the relevant regulations.”

He said PT Matic  Environmental Services Ltd is the only company in Malta in possession of an ERA export permit for asbestos waste and he has observed that little is exported when compared to the quantities actually removed.

“We export around 300 tonnes of such waste per year for proper disposal at permitted facilities overseas. However, much larger quantities are removed from different locations.

“This can only mean that significant quantities are either being disposed of locally or else stored for indefinite periods.  Both these activities are illegal and the authorities should intervene to stop such practices,” he said.