Labour MP Roderick Galdes claimed yesterday that workers at Hexagon House in Marsa are still exposed to pungent smells and pollution.

Speaking in parliament, during a debate on the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) Estimates 2010, Mr Galdes asked to government to say whether it is true that workers were sent home on particular days in the past five months.

Last year, Hexagon House had to be evacuated and Mepa had confirmed that the pungent smells was a result of high levels of H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide) gas that seeped back into the drainage system of the building from the main sewage system of the Drainage Department.

When the building was evacuated in March last year, three trade unions had said that a number of workers had felt unwell and requested medical check-ups.

Although work on the drainage system had been carried out, it seems that the problem has resurfaced. The Labour MP said that despite Mepa’s investment to take over Hexagon House, it is now faced to deal with this problem.

He claimed that Mepa’s Appeals Board members are objecting to the planned relocation to Hexagon House.