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Parents' fears for children's health
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| WORRIED: Parents living at Hathaway Place believe that their council housing is making their children ill. |
PARENTS of children living in Barry's Hathaway place say their housing is making their children ill.
Many of the children in the area are suffering from breathing problems and chest infections, and parents believe that the cause of the problems is the quality of the housing.
Emma Huggins, who lives on the close said: "It is definitely the housing. It's damp, we have been told that every room has tested positive for asbestos, my youngest has had bronchitis twice in a matter of months and has only just recovered from croup."
Katrina Ford, also from the close, said: "I have asthma - it's been a lot worse since we have lived here. But my daughter had never had asthma before and now she's on the pump all the time.
"I'm not sure if we have asbestos but there is something wrong with the houses here - they feel damp, and the children are always ill."
Several parents brought the matter up with Vale of Glamorgan MP John Smith at a street surgery, who said: "I am concerned by what I heard.
"Nothing can be more important than the health and wellbeing of our children. I will be writing to the Local Authority asking them to look into the issue as a matter of urgency."
Emma added: "We waited for two months for the council to come out, and when they did they didn't have the right equipment to get to the problem area.
"When they finally came to treat the asbestos, they were in their white outfits and masks - imagine how we felt knowing we had been living there with our children.
"How would they feel if it were their children living there?"
One man said: "These are prefab houses built in the late 60s. They weren't meant to be around now.
"They are putting new windows in, new bathrooms and new roofs - but the houses weren't made to last."
Vale of Glamorgan Council head of building and vehicle services, Steve Morris, said: "The council intend to survey all properties for the presence of asbestos-containing materials as part of the programme required to meet the Welsh Housing Quality Standard.
"The resulting information will provide the basis for an Asbestos Strategy which will include any remedial measures required.
"It is very important to note that any asbestos-containing materials, including textured coatings (artex), are safe if they are in good undamaged condition and sealed.
"The actual proportion of asbestos in textured coatings such as artex is quite small, and it is highly unlikely that very small areas of damaged textured coating, for example cracking/flaking, will produce the release of asbestos fibres which would result in exposure that is anywhere near the current Health and Safety Executive's control limit.
"However, if artex is damaged in any way, no matter how minor, we would encourage tenants to report this so that remedial works can be undertaken.
"In relation to the council-owned properties in Hathaway Place, just three have been sampled recently for asbestos-containing material in respect of artex ceilings prior to remedial works being undertaken."
Emma Huggins added: "There is something going on in the houses because so many of the children are ill.
"It can't all be a coincidence. I hope John Smith will get some answers."
8:15am Saturday 10th May 2008
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