A Hastings family are "gutted" that items from their asbestos-contaminated property were stolen. Photo / Warren Buckland
A Hastings family are "gutted" that items from their asbestos-contaminated property were stolen. Photo / Warren Buckland
A family locked out of their Hastings rental home for months because of asbestos contamination have now had the things they had to leave behind stolen from the empty home.
The family says people need to be warned items potentially asbestos-contaminated are now likely to be circulating through the Hawke'sBay community.
Anthony Manley said he, his wife and three children have been a "nightmare" fro three months.
"It has been an ongoing nightmare - one thing after the other. The process has dragged out for so long."
Asbestos was allegedly waterblasted off their roof and on to the lawn by a contractor in January.
Natalie and Anthony Manley, with their children Bryleigh, 3 (left), Cassadee, 6, and Jaedyn, 10, in front of their asbestos-contaminated home. Photo / File
They also believe some particles may have fallen inside the house.
The Manley family has since had to move from motels to temporary accommodation, at their landlord's expense.
The home was broken in to and items including two clear bags of kitchen appliances labelled "asbestos waste", along with a 50-inch TV, stereo, Xbox, and a disconnected CCTV camera were stolen.
"I am afraid that someone out in the community has got contaminated items in a house that may have children and it is going to jeopardise someone's life," Anthony Manley said.
Manley said after he told about the raid by his contractor on Saturday morning, he spoke to the Hawke's Bay District Health Board, who sent a team to "assess the situation", and the police.
"The police said they won't send a forensic team to investigate because they don't want them to be contaminated by the asbestos," Manley said.
"They can mask and suit up when they go into a crime scene with blood and guts, but when it comes to potential risk to the public with asbestos, they won't send somebody in."
Instead, police told Manley they would "put a message on Facebook to let people know", but Manley says "nothing has been done".
Although the items are insured, Manley says he's still "gutted".
"The fact is that our space has been violated. We are still upset about the whole thing."
Delay after delay has meant the expected move-in date of yesterday came and went.
Their neighbours, who were also affected, were given the green light to move in a month ago.
The Manleys are now expected to move back in on April 4.
Contractors have been given the task of "bagging everything up that cannot be saved and decontaminating those that can be saved".
In the garden, all the grass and dirt has to be ripped up.
A Hawke's Bay District Health Board health protection officer visited the site to ensure barriers, as well as visible "asbestos" warning signs remained in place around the perimeter of the site warning people not to enter.
The officer also contacted police to make sure they were aware of the incident.
Medical Officer of Health Dr Nicholas Jones said remediation at the site was ongoing and being managed by WorkSafe New Zealand.
"Asbestos is a fibre that occurs naturally in the environment and everyone is exposed to low levels of asbestos in daily life. While it's theoretically possible asbestos fibres might pose a risk to people who came into contact with the goods, the main risk from asbestos is from breathing in (not touching) the fibres."
He said serious health problems are generally related to people who have experienced long-term exposure to asbestos through their work (ie they have breathed in harmful asbestos fibres on many occasions over many years or decades).
A police spokesman confirmed they have received a burglary complaint, but were unable to comment further before deadline.
WorkSafe NZ directed all questions to police and/or the home owner.
The landlord declined to comment when approached by Hawke's Bay Today.
