Utrecht asbestos scare: more people told to leave their homes

Tuesday 24 July 2012

The 174 families forced out of their homes in Utrecht because of the asbestos scare are to be given €150 in compensation by housing corporation Mitros, the organisation said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Mitros told the residents of 117 more homes in the Utrecht district of Kanaleneiland to urgently leave their homes while asbestos dust is cleared up from the locality.

Some 57 households were moved to hotels at the weekend after a dangerous type of asbestos was found in two flats during renovation work.

High concentrations of asbestos were found in the area after extra tests were carried out on Monday. While samples taken at two locations showed negligible levels of asbestos, tests run in a third showed high levels of the dangerous fibres, deputy mayor Gilbert Isabella told a news conference.

Renovation work

The spray-on asbestos was discovered during renovation work on the properties, which are owned by housing corporation Mitros.

Spray-on asbestos, used as insulation and fire-proofing, was banned in the Netherlands in 1977 and is considered one of the most dangerous forms of asbestos. The affected property was built between 1960 and 1965.

Meanwhile, Utrecht city council has pledged to improve communication with people living the area who have complained about being given mixed messages from all the organisations involved in the evacuation and in assessing the health risk.

© DutchNews.nl