Podcast Summary
2024 Earth Summit and Housing Safety: The 2024 Earth Summit could significantly impact the net zero transition due to newly elected governments' power, while the Grenfell Fire inquiry highlights the importance of addressing building safety issues to prevent future tragedies.
The 2024 Times Earth Summit will be a pivotal event during a significant election year, with the newly elected governments having the power to accelerate or hinder the net zero transition, impacting all our futures. Meanwhile, the ongoing Grenfell Fire inquiry, five years after the tragedy, has exposed a housing scandal, which revealed that over 640,000 people, including children, are still living in potentially flammable buildings. The inquiry has revealed that the rapid spread of the Grenfell Tower fire was due to non-compliant cladding, and the companies responsible for its production have faced scandals. The complex inquiry process has taken years, and the final report is still pending. These two events underscore the importance of government action on sustainability and building safety.
Grenfell Tower fire cladding: The Grenfell Tower fire disaster could have been prevented if the government had banned the use of ACM cladding that failed fire tests 16 years prior, despite knowing its danger.
The Grenfell Tower fire disaster could have been prevented if not for the external cladding made of aluminum composite material (ACM) that met the British standard Clause 0 at the time. The inquiry revealed that the government had tested this same cladding 16 years before the disaster and it failed the fire test within three minutes. Despite this, the cladding was still legal to use and thousands of buildings were cleared with it. The system failed to meet the safety criteria, and the government had the opportunity to ban it but did not. Three companies were involved in the cladding of Grenfell: Arconic, Celatex, and Kingspan. Arconic produced the ACM cladding, Celatex provided the foam insulation, and Kingspan supplied the phenolic foam insulation, all of which contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. The systemic failure of regulations and the companies involved allowed this dangerous material to be used, resulting in the tragic Grenfell Tower fire.
Kingspan dishonesty: Kingspan misrepresented the safety of its flagship product K-15 for over a decade, continuing to sell it as generally safe despite a 2008 change that made it a fire hazard. Emails and WhatsApp conversations revealed a culture of dishonesty within the company.
Kingspan, a leading insulation manufacturer, misrepresented the safety of its flagship product, K-15, for over a decade. Although Kingspan claimed ignorance about the use of K-15 in the Grenfell Tower, the insulation was central to the tragedy. In 2005, Kingspan conducted a test on K-15, which passed, but the approval only applied to the exact system tested. However, Kingspan continued to sell K-15 as generally safe for various configurations. In 2008, Kingspan changed the installation formula, resulting in a fire hazard. Despite this, Kingspan kept using the old fire safety regulation certificate to market K-15. Shocking emails and WhatsApp conversations from the time period revealed a culture of dishonesty within the company. Another company involved in the Grenfell disaster was Cetatex, a British firm aiming to compete with Kingspan in the high-rise market. Despite Kingspan's denial, the evidence suggests that both companies played significant roles in the tragedy.
Deceptive business practices: Companies may resort to deceitful methods to gain a competitive edge, but such actions can lead to serious consequences, including damage to reputation and potential legal repercussions.
Celatex, a competitor to Kingspan in the insulation market, resorted to deceptive practices to get their product certified and into the market. They rigged a test to pass, failed to disclose crucial information, and targeted inexperienced inspectors to certify their product. The young employee, Roper, who came up with the plan, later expressed unease and resigned. Despite both companies denying any culpability, this incident highlights the importance of ethical business practices and transparency in the industry. It also underscores the potential risks and consequences when shortcuts are taken to gain a competitive edge.
Grenfell Tower tragedy and misleading statements: During the Grenfell Tower tragedy, companies involved made misleading statements about the safety of their products, leading to the use of highly flammable materials. Transparency and honesty are crucial in the building industry to ensure safety.
During the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Arconic, an American aluminum giant, made misleading statements about the safety of their aluminum composite material (ACM) cladding, which was used on the tower. The cladding, called Rainabond 55 PE, contained highly flammable polyethylene plastic sandwiched between two thin sheets of aluminum. When the plastic melted during the fire, it spread the flames up and around the building. The inquiry revealed that all three companies involved in producing the products used for the tower made misleading statements about their safety. Iconic, the company that sold the ACM cladding to Grenfell, used a certificate for a different product to sell the dangerous ACM. Arconic, the manufacturer, knew their product was risky since they had tested it in 2005 and found that the cassette version burned ten times faster than the bolt-on one. However, they never disclosed this information to the public. The complexity of fire building regulations allowed manufacturers like Arconic to operate within the framework and take advantage of the lack of understanding in the industry. Arconic's actions demonstrate the importance of transparency and honesty in the building industry, especially when dealing with materials that can have significant safety implications.
Grenfell Tower fire regulatory failure: The Grenfell Tower fire was not just due to a single company's negligence, but also a failure of the regulatory system and those in charge of setting the rules, including Arconic's provision of false safety certificates, government inaction, and lack of closure of regulatory loopholes.
The Grenfell Tower fire tragedy was not just a result of a single company's negligence, but also a failure of the regulatory system and those in charge of setting the rules. Arconic, the company responsible for the combustible cladding used in Grenfell Tower, provided false safety certificates for a less flammable product, while the actual panels used were highly combustible. Arconic employees were aware of the issue but refused to testify due to a French law. The UK salesperson for Arconic also sent the incorrect certificate to the Grenfell refurbishment team. The government, through its housing ministry, played a role in creating an environment that allowed for such abuses by not acting on warnings and failing to close loopholes, including the Class 0 certification that contributed to the tragedy. Brian Martin, who was in charge of building fire regulations guidance at the housing ministry for 18 years, acknowledged that he could have prevented the Grenfell fire but did not take action.
Grenfell Tower fire regulations: Regulatory ambiguity and budget cuts under British govts allowed use of flammable materials in tall buildings, contributing to Grenfell Tower fire. Govt initially focused on rebuttal instead of addressing root causes, took 5 years to tighten up rules.
Regulatory ambiguity and budget cuts under successive British governments, including during the tenure of former Prime Minister David Cameron, contributed to the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy by allowing the use of flammable materials in tall building constructions. The government's initial response was met with public outrage, and the lack of transparency and accountability from key officials, such as Brian Martin, further fueled the anger. Despite the devastating consequences, the government initially focused on mounting a rebuttal operation instead of addressing the root causes and reviewing building regulations. It took nearly five years for the government to finally admit past failures and tighten up the rules on flammable cladding systems, banning ACM cladding only two weeks ago.
Grenfell Tower fire disaster regulations: Despite the Grenfell Tower fire disaster revealing deeply flawed regulations and corporate irresponsibility, the manufacturers involved have made billions in profits without contributing to fixing or compensating for hazardous situations, leaving hundreds of thousands in potentially dangerous buildings and causing a market crisis for apartment owners.
That the Grenfell Tower fire disaster revealed deeply flawed regulations and corporate irresponsibility, leaving hundreds of thousands of people still living in potentially dangerous flammable clad buildings. Three manufacturers involved in the scandal have collectively made over six billion pounds in profits since Grenfell, yet have not contributed to fixing or compensating for the hazardous situations. The government has set aside 9 billion pounds to rectify the issue, but has not received any compensation from the manufacturers. The crisis has also resulted in a market crisis for apartment owners, who are unable to sell or secure mortgages due to the uncertainty of building safety. Despite the passage of five years and numerous fires since Grenfell, no arrests have been made and the final report of the inquiry is not expected until the end of this year or early next year. The situation underscores the urgent need for accountability and action from both the government and the implicated corporations.
Grenfell Tower fire scandal: The Grenfell Tower fire scandal left hundreds of thousands of people living in dangerous homes and with their lives on hold due to outdated rules and corrupt companies, resulting in the deaths of 72 people and shaping up as one of the biggest scandals of our time.
Learning from this episode of "Stories of Our Times" podcast is the devastating impact of the Grenfell Tower fire scandal, which has left hundreds of thousands of people living in dangerous homes and with their lives on hold due to outdated rules and corrupt companies. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of 72 people and shattered the lives of their families. This issue, which has been ongoing for 30 years, is one of the biggest scandals of our time. If you want to delve deeper into the topic, you can read Martina Lee's long read on the Grenfell tragedy and the rest of The Times and The Sunday Times' coverage of the anniversary at thetimes.co.uk with a subscription. In other news, on "The Times is World in 10" podcast, Alex Dibble discusses the potential causes of a world war in the next 10 years. One of the key factors is the discordant behavior of President Putin in the Alliance. Tune in to the podcast for more insights from military specialists and renowned foreign correspondents.