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 | | BUILDERS RISK COURT CASES OR CAUSING DEATH WITH GAS MEMBRANES | | | Doncaster Membrane Installations Ltd (DMI Ltd) | | 15/07/2008 | | | Builders may be placing themselves at risk of prosecution and putting customers’ lives at risk when laying gas membranes on new build sites.
Gordon Cave, Managing Director of contaminated land specialists Doncaster Membrane Installations Ltd (DMI Ltd) claims that a combination of confusing guidance, poor advice and bad practice is putting Yorkshire builders at risk of prosecution by local authorities while posing a significant risk of harm or even death to occupants of buildings.
Gas protection measures are required where there is an identified risk of ground gas (principally Methane and Carbon Dioxide but also Radon) migrating leaking from the ground into a new building. The membrane and venting medium should be appropriate to the risk involved and lead to the gas being dissipated into the general atmosphere, where it provides no risk to people or the environment.
Gordon Cave says: “The guidance on the use and installations of gas and vapour membranes from the Construction Industry Research Information Association (CIRIA) is clear, the problem is there is a plethora of other guidance to follow, which is confusing for constructors who on occasion are getting it wrong. The risks of not following the guidelines are severe and serious and builders need to take advice to prevent themselves being placed at risk from legal proceedings should things go awry,”
Gordon Cave claims that the risks are going to increase in the future as the Government pushes for developments on more heavily contaminated brownfield sites.
The government has set a target that 60% of all new buildings should be built on brownfield sites. This is to relieve the pressure on demand for Greenfield sites. Previous industrial activities may result in the land being affected by contaminants. As part of the planning process, the local authority will need to be satisfied that the developer has performed an adequate assessment of the risks posed by any contaminants present and that any remedial measures are suitable so that no harm will be caused to end users.
Gordon Cave has seen more than his fair share of horror stories on building sites he has been brought in to advice on.
“I honestly think it is not so much a case of wilful neglect as ignorance of best practice. We have seen completely inappropriate use of materials that at best would be useless and at worse potentially fatal. In other cases it has been clear that the developer has insufficient knowledge of how to install a membrane so that it does the job it’s supposed to do.
“Rather than store up problems for later, developers need to take the right advice so that problems can be averted in the early stages, said Gordon Cave.
Unfortunately, in some cases constructors, especially small developers are being given poor advice by building suppliers, leading to inappropriate material being used which puts both the developer and the end user at risk.
Gordon Cave said: “What most builders don’t realise is that many trade suppliers don’t have the expertise to be able to advice on appropriate membranes. The pressure to make a sale is paramount and small contractors are bound to be tempted by the cheaper option. The result is that the contractors leave the suppliers with inadequate material and to all intents and purposes are wasting money.”
The risks of not following the CIRIA guidelines, which were published at the end of last year, were underlined by a CIRIA spokesperson who said: “CIRIA is a highly respected and influential association that is recognised by Local Authorities and agencies like the NHBC. We have no statutory or regulatory powers but if a developer were found to be not compliant with our recommendations they are more likely to face prosecution from the regulators, which in most cases would be a Local Authority, the Environment Agency or HSE.”
The assertion from CIRIA was supported by Brian Moulson, Business Manager with Sheffield City Council’s Building Standards when he said: “I can only speak for Sheffield City Council but I'm confident that most Local Authorities would look at the results of the assessments and investigations that established the type of contaminant and then ensured that the appropriate guidance documents had been utilised in determining the remedial and protective measures proposed.
“Building Regulations Approved Document C gives guidance on this and a number of guides and reports are available; those from CIRIA being prominent amongst them. We would want to be assured that these had been followed and that all materials and methods were acceptable and therefore met Regulation C1.
"If there was suspected neglect then an investigation would take place into the materials, installation and practices used by the developer. If the measures did not meet Regulation C1 we would take things very seriously indeed and we could take enforcement action or prosecute or both; especially if we had evidence the developer had disregarded the approved guidelines."
While the local authority would be involved in the early stages of a construction site being planned and developed, if a problem were to arise after completion it is more than likely that the HSE would be involved. Like the LA, the HSE would take regard of the guidelines set out to assist developers.
Any HSE investigation could ultimately lead to a court case against a developer. At which point, according to a HSE spokesperson, they and the Judge would consider all guidance available to them before making a decisions and if there were no HSE guidance, then CIRIA would be a first line of reference.
“A court of law would ask the developer if they had complied with CIRIA and if not, why not? Ultimately the developer has to comply with the law of the land and the judge will decide if they have or not. Equally they will look at guidance and best practice to see if it has been followed before making a decision on penalties, damages and compensation,” said a HSE spokesperson.
DMI Ltd is a specialist sub-contractor for the supply, installation and design of building protection systems. The Company has over ten years experience providing services to major developers like Balfour Beatty, Morgan Ashurst and Aldi Stores. | |
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