|
Lafarge, the cement manufacturer, faces the prospect of substantial compensation claims after discovering it supplied contaminated cement used in houses, roads and small building projects across south-west England that could crumble and crack.
Lafarge employees at its plant at Westbury, Wiltshire, had deliberately under-reported alkali levels in cement supplied to construction companies such as RMC, Tarmac and Hanson over a two-year period, the company admitted.
The concrete containing the cement is at risk of cracking or crumbling over the next 15 years as a result of alkali silica reaction.
Although none of the buildings is at risk of serious structural failure, they may have to be monitored for many years and repairs carried out if necessary.
The cost of the monitoring and repairs may have to be borne by Lafarge. RMC, its main customer, said: "We do not know what the costs will be but we hold Lafarge responsible."
Lafarge said: "We are a responsible manufacturer and stand by our product. Compensation is a longer-term issue which is premature at this stage. Our focus is on working with our customers to support them in identifying any structures that could be at risk of developing a damaging alkali silica reaction and then having them assessed on a case-by-case basis."
The costs to Lafarge are likely to exceed substantially the value of the original sales of the contaminated cement. Some 1,000 cubic metres of concrete are considered at high risk of crumbling or cracking. Lafarge was unable to comment on the value of the sales involved but said they were a tiny part of the company's annual production of 20m cubic metres of cement.
The incident was unlikely to have a serious impact on the company's finances, it said.
Although the amount of contaminated cement is relatively small, it was distributed widely across the south-west between September 2002 and December 2004. Companies such as RMC are working with their customers to trace where the cement was used.
Tarmac said: "We can confirm that we have been in touch with all customers who may have received ready-mixed concrete, containing Westbury cement, with alkali levels exceeding specified limits. This number is relatively small and ongoing discussion are taking place. We are being fully open with our customers and are sharing detailed information with them."
Lafarge discovered the problem at its Westbury plant in December and then worked with The Cement Association to establish the level of risk. It would not comment on what action it was taking against the employees concerned.
|