Public Health England under fire about Rochdale asbestos dangers

Jan 2014 TBA fire timeline closeup re PHE

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In the aftermath of the second TBA site fire in a year, a government agency relied upon by Rochdale Council and Greater Manchester Fire Service is not up to the job of protecting public health according to a recent report by the Parliamentary Select Committee scrutinising Public Health England (PHE).

The cross-party Select Committee's report is damning: it states that PHE is not discharging the role parliament gave it "to provide a fearless and independent national voice for public health in England".

Leading health organisations, including the British Medical Association, expressed concern to MPs. In evidence given to the Select Committee it was stated that Public Health England staff were not free to contradict government policy.

In a significant conclusion, the published Select Committee report stated: "We are concerned that there is insufficient separation between PHE and the Department of Health. The committee believes that there is an urgent need for this relationship to be clarified and for PHE to establish that it is truly independent of government and able to 'speak truth unto power'.”

The Select Committee's concerns over the effectiveness of Public Health England have direct local importance - recent TBA Working Party meetings have heard how PHE were responsible for advice regarding the health impact of large fires at the former T&N asbestos factory site in Rochdale. As the last fire raged, in the early hours of 31 January, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service spoke to a PHE representative by telephone. It appears PHE's advice resulted in the decision not to cordon off nearby roads or alert nearby schools before opening as normal.

Information is being sought about the amount of detail PHE knew about the former TBA site - once the world's largest asbestos textile factory that processed the cancer-causing mineral from the 1870s to the mid 1990s. Previous advice given by PHE about the site appeared to rely on a general report published a decade ago. The old publication related to ordinary factories that could contain asbestos containing materials (ACMs) rather than old asbestos production sites with the potential to release significant quantities of fine asbestos fibres accumulated over decades of dusty production.

Save Spodden Valley co-ordinator Jason Addy is to provide Rochdale Council with a dossier that includes original T&N documents highlighting the facts relating to high asbestos dust levels recorded at the Spodden Valley mill complex. He states: “We are surprised by the lack of information that PHE appeared to have regarding the site. Perhaps this explains some aspects of the advice that appears to have been given to both Rochdale Council and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. We will do all we can to make sure that firefighters, council workers and the public are protected. It is important that the facts are known about the former TBA site so that safe decisions and procedures are made and enforced.”