Criminal investigation launched by NIEA over asbestos at site

The presence of asbestos at a bonfire website in Belfast is beneath legal investigation by the Northern Eire Surroundings Company (NIEA), the setting minister has confirmed.Issues had been raised concerning the hazardous materials on the website, between the Donegall Highway and the Westlink, within the run as much as the lighting of the 11 July bonfires. The NIEA beforehand eliminated about 20kg of asbestos from the Meridi Avenue website and had confirmed that additional fragments of asbestos had been discovered within the website.The landowners, Boron Developments, have been contacted for remark. Boron Developments purchased the positioning in the summertime of 2017 and had been made conscious of asbestos at the moment.It beforehand mentioned it engaged a waste administration firm to take away the asbestos however the firm wanted “no personnel” on the positioning in an effort to full the removing of asbestos.Northern Eire’s Surroundings Minister Andrew Muir advised BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster programme on Friday a legal investigation has been initiated in relation to the asbestos and litigation proceedings are underway.”The Northern Eire Surroundings Company rightly considers this very critically and might be doing all that they will with reference to it as a result of this is a matter of concern and the officers in my division are working studiously with reference to it,” he mentioned.Muir added the company is concentrated on ensuring that the asbestos pile is “safely eliminated”. The Police Service of Northern Eire has mentioned the probe is a “Northern Eire Surroundings Company investigation”.