This calendar year, to early August, the council has spent $180,000 on the programme, up from $7200 in 2015, none in 2014, $26,000 in 2013, and no money was spent on it from 2006 to 2012.
Council property manager Renee Julius said the reason for the spike in spending in 2016 was the removal of asbestos from the former RSA building on Itchen St.
Mrs Julius said the council did not know how much asbestos was contained in its buildings, but no council operational building was currently contaminated with asbestos.
The buildings the council owns that contain asbestos and are programmed for removal are the Oamaru Courthouse, in the basement area, the Holmes Wharf building, in its roof and cladding, and the Centennial Stadium Boiler cradle where pipe lagging is located in the roof space and accessible only via a ladder.
Council-owned buildings where asbestos is encapsulated are the old laundry behind 9 Thames St, the RSA building, which had brown and white asbestos removed, except around the soffits, which were encapsulated, and Swale St roofing.
Buildings the council removed asbestos from include Centennial Stadium, the Oamaru library and the Omarama Woolshed, removed when the building was demolished.
Mrs Julius said of all the buildings none contained blue asbestos.
The WorkSafe New Zealand website stated that blue asbestos was claimed to be the "most dangerous asbestos" because its fibres were so thin.
"This makes them easy to inhale and lodge in the linings of a person’s lungs."
Mrs Julius said when it came to identifying asbestos in buildings, as long as it was encapsulated and the area well maintained there was no urgency to remove it.
Only when the asbestos was exposed and if people could powder it, was it a problem, she said.
"We don’t necessarily have to remove every piece of asbestos as soon as we discover it."
She said council took asbestos removal seriously and they cared for its tenants, contractors and general public, but she said not everyone understood the risk asbestos presented.
The council, when taking over a building where it knew asbestos contamination occurred, would change the locks to restrict access to the site, to get inspections and other work under way, but some people objected to the action.
"Their understanding, my personal opinion is , because they hadn’t experienced it already, they may not understand the risk associated with asbestosis.
"We draw it to their attention that they're putting themselves at risk and they need to stay away.
"It has been quite difficult with a certain type of generation.
"It comes down to education. This is all relatively new for some people."
