The collapse of a ceiling section at Perth's Children's Hospital has been blamed by the construction union on builders John Holland doing a "rush job" on remediation work after asbestos was found in roof panels in July.
The collapse of a ceiling section at Perth's Children's Hospital has been blamed by the construction union on builders John Holland doing a "rush job" on remediation work after asbestos was found in roof panels in July.
The company says it believes the plasterboard was damaged in heavy rain on Sunday night but is yet to identify how the water got in, causing a section of plasterboard to collapse.
Exclusion zones are in place while work is underway to identify any further damage.
John Holland insists the affected section is unrelated to remediation work to remove asbestos sound-proofing sheeting from inside atrium roof panels.
But the CFMEU says that's not the case.
Asbestos was discovered within the panels, supplied by Chinese company Yuanda, by a worker nine weeks ago and a decision was made last month to cut into them and remove the hazardous sheeting.
The CFMEU said at the time that the panels should be completely replaced and reiterated that call today.
State secretary Mick Buchan said John Holland had been removing several panels at once - not one at a time as agreed - and the rain entered the ceiling cavity because plastic sheeting used as temporary plastic waterproofing was inadequately secured.
"We had a concern from the start when we went through the methodology that to remove the asbestos in situ will create a vast range of hazards and concerns, and increases the risk of the problems that have occurred," Mr Buchan told AAP.
"We had that extreme weather on Sunday evening - from what I gather five panels were removed and some temporary waterproofing was put on that leaked, which then filled the ceiling cavity underneath.
"It's just a rush job. You can't fix these problems by taking shortcuts."
The Department of Treasury and Finance strategic projects division was sought for comment.
