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Discovery of ‘hazardous’ tar sends pothole repair plan into meltdown
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TOPIC: Discovery of ‘hazardous’ tar sends pothole repair plan into meltdown

Discovery of ‘hazardous’ tar sends pothole repair plan into meltdown 5 years, 1 month ago #1

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Not that exclusive see Topic 'Current State of the Roads in East Renfrewshire'

Published Barrhead News On Line -

20/02/2019
1 hr ago
Exclusive by John McNee

Discovery of ‘hazardous’ tar sends pothole repair plan into meltdown

EAST Renfrewshire’s roads repair programme has been thrown into chaos by the discovery of dangerous coal tar, the Barrhead News can reveal.

The use of coal tar in roads was commonplace until the mid-1980s but has since been classified as ‘hazardous.’

While it is quite safe for road users and pedestrians, as a carcinogen it poses a risk to workers who have to excavate and handle it.

The discovery of coal tar in East Renfrewshire means the council is unable to perform ‘cut out’ repairs of potholes.

Instead, the local authority is only able to place a temporary filling in craters as a ‘patch.’

Removal of coal tar also has “huge cost implications” for the council, as strict procedures must be followed when dealing with its disposal.

Material containing coal tar at levels greater than 0.1% is classed as ‘special waste’ and must be disposed of at a site licensed to take it.

It is understood a site operated by Avondale Environmental Landfill at Polmont, near Grangemouth, is the only one in Scotland which deals with coal tar.

However, Councillor Alan Lafferty, East Renfrewshire’s environment convener, has said Avondale is not currently accepting any more of this type of waste, as it has reached its annual quota – with the next nearest licensed tip being in Huddersfield.

In an email to community councillors, Mr Lafferty wrote: “The cost of disposal of material at this landfill site is around £140 per tonne (this does not include haulage costs), which compares to a cost of approximately £5 per tonne for the disposal of non-hazardous road waste.

“There are therefore huge cost implications for carrying out works on sites containing this type of material.

“As well as impacting on our surfacing programme, there are also implications for any of our works which involves excavation of bituminous materials – e.g. drainage, small-scale patching, pothole repairs, kerbing, sign pole/bollard installation.”

The matter came to light after residents in Clarkston complained about potholes in Viaduct Road, Linwood Avenue and Overlee Road receiving only temporary repairs.

Neilston residents also noted potholes were no longer being excavated but simply filled in, with no tar to seal the edges, meaning repairs are unlikely to last long.

Jim Sheriff, secretary of Neilston Community Council, said: “There are clearly implications both in terms of the possible additional cost on the roads budget and the suggestion that Neilston Road was being considered for early resurfacing.

“We understand that ERC had taken samples from Main Street and Neilston Road last year but the reason or results were not conveyed to the community council.”

East Renfrewshire Council confirmed it has suspended minor excavation work, meaning potholes will only receive temporary “infilling” until new procedures are put in place.

The local authority would not reveal where coal tar was discovered.

A spokesperson said: “All planned resurfacing sites will be tested for the presence of coal tar prior to work commencing, although it is not practical
to carry this out for all minor works, which includes pothole repairs.

“This has meant that minor excavation work has been temporarily suspended to allow updated safe systems of work and risk assessments to be put in place.

“Once these revised procedures are completed, it will allow all minor works with excavation, including cut out repairs to potholes, to resume.”
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