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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 DECEMBER 2014 3 News TIM DIACONO WINTER Moods' recent single 'Ever- lasting' could prove to be a hit in more ways than one, after revelations that its music video was filmed in a derelict factory contaminated with asbestos. The video, directed by James Vernon, took place in the condemned Mriehel factory that formerly housed Dowty O Rings; littered with asbestos panels, no warning signs were ever placed in the factory to warn trespassers of the dan- gers of contamination. Featuring two couples, young and old, running all over the factory floor, it is no wonder that an industrial chemi- cal expert contacted by MaltaToday has expressed concern about what took place during the video shoot. "Looking at the video, it's clear that the building was littered with asbes- tos and it's crazy that the actors were simply dancing and running on it," the industrial chemist, who preferred to remain anonymous, told MaltaToday. "They were wearing no protection and it's highly probable that they in- haled asbestos fibres. It probably got stuck to their clothes and their shoes too – asbestos spreads very easily." The asbestos mineral was commonly used in the manufacturing industry for its resilience to damage by heat, elec- tricity and chemicals. In the 1970s, it was discovered to be highly carcino- genic and was widely banned. "The asbestos in that building was amosite, one of the most toxic forms of asbestos," the industrial chemist said. "The worst-case scenario for the two actors is that they will end up devel- oping lung cancer in around 20 years' time. Asbestos symptoms often take that long to develop." The music video, produced by Malta- Film, was shot early last summer in the abandoned factory in Mriehel, now the property of the Malta Industrial Parks, a subsidiary of Malta Enterprise. In 2008, the roof collapsed, littering the ground with planks of asbestos. "There was no special reason why we chose this factory," MaltaFilm executive producer Joshua Cassar- Gaspar said. "It was an abandoned factory, easily accessible to all, with no apertures and completely ex- posed to the elements. "We were not aware that there was asbestos in the building. There were no warning signs and other people were walking through it while we were filming." James Vernon, director of the Winter Moods music video, actu- ally returned to the film set a few months later to direct the promo- tional video for this year's Samsara New Year's Eve party. "In both cases, there was no ill in- tention," Vernon said. "We didn't break open any doors to get inside, and we did not see any signs on the abandoned and exposed building. In fact, the police arrived during the Winter Moods shoot to see what we were doing. We explained that we were taking some shots for a music video and they gave us the go-ahead to continue." Deborah Grech, manager for Win- ter Moods and wife of frontman Ivan Grech, told MaltaToday that the band had no say in the choice of the site for the filming, which did not involve the band. The band was filmed for other scenes in another location. A collapsed roof and a collapsed tender MIP had been alerted to the situ- ation by an OHSA official back in 2008, and all apertures had to be sealed to prevent fibres being blown away by the wind. The Malta Indus- trial Parks' former deputy chair- man, Christopher Paris, explained that MIP had released a tender for the removal of the asbestos. However, the tender process was halted in 2010 after security system company Alberta protested that the winning bidder did not have the necessary insurance policies to cov- er the removal of the asbestos. An internal inquiry was launched, a technical error was discovered and the tender process was can- celled. The tender was re-released earlier this year and was awarded to PT Matic, a subsidiary company of Alberta, on 7 October 2014. The bulk of the asbestos has now been removed, packaged in jumbo bags and shipped out to contractors in Spain. Trespassing charges a real possibility Had the Malta Industrial Parks pro- vided the film crew with permission to film in that building, it could have given rise to some very thorny ques- tions. As it stands though, the film crew could face trespassing charges. "We are taking a very serious stance here," MIP chairman Tony Zahra said. "There are laws defending pri- vate property." Both Cassar-Gaspar and Vernon said that they were completely una- ware that the building belonged to the MIP. However, it appears that Zahra is having none of it. "I personally don't think it's a valid argument and they'll have to convince the judge," he said. "If they had want- ed to film on that land, they could have asked us. You can't just film on private property without permission in a civilised country." Asbestos alert in Winter Moods music video real watches for real people Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter Patented automatic mechanical movement with mechanical altimeter Matt-satin stainless steel case Water resistant to 10 bar/100 m www.oris.ch 43, Republic Street, Valletta Tel: 2124 9222 Info@pavilion.com.mt WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION WEDNESDAYt%&$&.#&3t*446&t16#-*4)&%&7&3:8&%/&4%":"/%46/%": €0.90 Editorial - PAGE 8 HANDS OFF Fr Charles in court over sex abuse SEE MORE ON PAGE 4 Animal clinic deal shrouded in 'lack of transparency' TIM DIACONO AUDITORS could not find the evaluation report justifying the previous Nationalist government's decision to select Centru San Frangisk as the operators of an ani- mal after-care clinic. According to the National Audit Office report, the former Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs under George Pullicino had re- ceived four submissions after issu- ing a call for expressions of interest in 2009 for the running of an ani- mal clinic. However, the auditors could locate the signed agreement tween the government and the ning bidder, and not the evaluation report justifying the government's selection of the winning bidder. "This is indicative of a transparency that could lead efficient spending of public the audit report said. Moreover, according to the ment, the winning bidder fered to provide treatment mals "at the current market without quoting any actual "No comfort could from the fact that, at least, economical offer was selected," audit report said. According to the original ment between the government San Frangisk Clinic, bound to pay for and rehabilitation mals brought in for the Animal Welfare The Animal Welfare was similarly bound medical treatment to the clinic by ficers. However, on the government signed this agreement, signed a "contradicting" randum of understanding tially waived to provide free animals. According the clinic bill to the torate for excluding rendered Green NGOs disagree with government's intention to tweak development boundaries CONTINUES ON PAGE 5 DIN l-Art Helwa and Flimkien ghall-Ambjent Ahjar have expressed complete disagreement with the government's intention to tweak de- velopment boundaries as announced by plan- ning parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon in an interview with MaltaToday last Sunday. On its part the opposition is calling on the government to present a justification for any extension of development boundaries and to submit any such proposal to a Strategic Envi- ronmental Impact Assessment (SEA). Din l-Art Helwa president Simone Mizzi in- sisted that the country is still paying the cost of the extension of development boundaries in 2006. NO CONFIRMATION ON HERRERA HIT-AND-RUN Parliamentary secretary José Herrera reportedly involved in hit-and- run incident. SEE MORE ON PAGE 4 PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD MALTATODAY MIDWEEK EDITION Maltatoday Midweek will not be published on Wednesday Christmas Eve. It returns on Wednesday 31 December 2014 MaltaFilm executive producer Joseph Cassar-Gaspar: "We were not aware that there was asbestos in the building. There were no warning signs and people were walking around in it" Danger in Mriehel factory since 2008 but no warning signs or protective barriers ever erected to ward off trespassers: now actors and directors could have been exposed to asbestos inhalation Winter Moods