| The measure was revealed following the publication of a report the council has fought for over a year to keep secret, but has now been released under Freedom of Information.
The authority launched the independent probe after a large pane crashed to the ground in the atrium of the busy City Centre facility“for no obvious reason”.
No one was injured in the 2006 incident, but the area of the fall is well used during opening hours, and the Victoria Road entrance was closed for weeks.
“It is possible for another failure to occur from the same cause,” stated consultant John Colvin. “The probability of this happening is around 2.2%.”
The Tele can also reveal today that the investigation was compromised because glass from the fallen two-metre by two-metre pane had been thrown out.
It is thought the most likely cause was foreign particles in the glass — leaving the authority with little legal recourse against the manufacturer or installer.
“It has to be concluded…that the most likely cause is nickel sulphide in the glass,” said Mr Colvin’s report. “This can only be confirmed by collecting all the fragments and having them inspected. Since most of the glass has been disposed of, this is not going to be possible.”
The report stated the condition of the remaining glazing had not been assessed, but noted, “there is no reason to doubt the structural adequacy”.
The probe ruled out poor glazing, edge damage to the pane, movement of the structure and deliberate or accidental impact.
The investigator recommended the council replace the broken unit as soon as possible and consider whether a safety film should be applied to retain fragments from any breakages.
A spokesperson for Dundee City Council said, “Following expert advice, all adjacent panels of glass have been reinforced with safety film.”
There was little likelihood, said Mr Colvin, of the council recovering any of the costs for the replacement glazing or any remedial film.
“Cases where arguments over nickel sulphide breakages have reached court have usually ended up with all sides, except the lawyers, losing out,” he added.
Mr Colvin’s report was at the centre of a long-running battle under Freedom of Information which has finally been released only after the Information Commissioner intervened.
Commissioner Kevin Dunion also criticised the authority for failing on four occasions to explain why it withheld the document since a request was made by Mr David Middleton. |
