Roger Bunce, David Bunce
Who remembers anything about the asbestos problems at TV Centre? I reckon they were identified in the second week of May 1988. (At least, that was the year I satirised the situation on the front of the SODS.)
My memory says that Mike Jones gathered us in the Crew Room to break the news. With great candour, he said that Union Reps had initially reported their suspicions, but the Management had denied it. They had even called in outside contractors to prove that there was no problem. Only later did the leakage become so obvious that they could no longer deny it.
Dick Blencowe tells me that this happened during the refurbishment of TC6, when the Sparks found white deposits on the tops of lighting barrels. After that, Management and Union Reps got together and found similar problems in all the studios, apart from TC8, where no asbestos had been used.
The Doctor Who DVD ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’ covers the situation, though not in any great depth.
Dick Blencowe
Yes the asbestos crisis at TC was triggered when the Sparks rigging the lights in TC6 after a refurbishment found white dust in the cable trays of the lighting barrels. Their Safety Reps called the crew out and asked management to analyse the dust before they would resume work. It was found to be asbestos and TC6 was sealed pending a clean up. TV5 Safety Reps were informed and together with management and the Sparks Reps the question of the other studios was raised. We jointly inspected the grids of the other studios and found that the cladding was damaged in many places in all the other studios. Management then closed all the studios apart from TC8 which had been constructed with no use of asbestos.
Over the following several months the asbestos was re-encapsulated in all the studios, a major job which needed a scaffolding rig over the complete studio from floor to ceiling before any work could be undertaken. The long term plan was to remove the asbestos at the next major refurbishment of each studio.
Why was there asbestos in the grids? Above and supporting the grid and roof were massive steel girders in pairs one above the other with bracing in between. To avoid these buckling in the event of a major fire and putting the integrity of the roof and grid at risk, regulations required that they were protected with a fire protective coating. Asbestos was the standard material for this at the time of construction and even then it was known to be a health risk. To minimise this risk it was encapsulated in a calico material and coated with a thick mastic type layer. This is quite safe unless the encapsulation is damaged.
Interesting times working at the coal face! I wonder how much asbestos is still present now the old "Fun Factory" is to become apartments.
Jeff Booth
I recall there was much asbestos treatment in the basement (I worked in main block VT). I think the asbestos was encased rather than removed. This was mostly in the inner ring.
I wonder what timebombs the TVC remodelling will unearth?
Bill Jenkin
There was a later exposure in TC2 only sometime in the 1990s. I am not certain of the exact details but it had something to do with a contractor exposing asbestos somewhere in the ventilation system which worked its way through to TC2.
I have also read somewhere that asbestos was discovered in Lime Grove when they demolished it but I have even less information on that one.
Ian Hillson
Long before the scare, all the floorboards in tech corridors and other tech areas had been replaced – as just in case any cables under them had ever burst into flames they had to be fireproof. Guess what wonder material of the 1960s had been used?
