Frontman Ivan Grech.

A disused factory in Mrieħel, littered with carcinogenic asbestos, has become the unlikely backdrop of two music videos shot by unwitting crews who may have exposed themselves to the toxic material.

The most high-profile is the official video for top band Winter Moods’ latest single, Everlasting, in which two sets of actors, playing a loving couple in their youth and old age, can be seen trampling on hundreds of broken asbestos slabs laying on the floor of what was once the Dowty O rings factory.

We had no idea there was asbestos present, nor did I know what asbestos was

The second video is a promotional clip for the New Year’s Eve party Samsara, which also features a woman walking around the factory, though in this case, the premises seems to have been cleared of most of the material.

When inert, asbestos is harmless, however, when it is broken down, as is the case of the material found in Mrieħel, it releases fibres, which, when airborne, can be inhaled causing a form of cancer-like disease known as asbestosis.

An expert warned that the type of material present at the factory, known as blue asbestos, is actually of the worst kind.

Times of Malta had alerted the health authorities and the owners of the property Malta Industrial Parks, about the dangers at the factory as far back as 2008. However, no action was taken over the years even though a contractor is finally in the last phase of clearing the place of asbestos after a tender was awarded in October.

When contacted, Deborah Grech, manager of Winter Moods, distanced herself from the video, arguing that the band was only involved in the promo story and was not actually present for the shooting of the scenes in Mrieħel.

It turns out the video was a form of barter arrangement between the production company and the band in which Malta Film only got exposure for the filming but received no payment.

The location was chosen by the artistic director, James Vernon, who was responsible for both the Winter Moods and the Samsara videos.

Speaking to this newspaper via e-mail, Mr Vernon said the site was chosen because it was “easily accessible”.

“We had no idea it belonged to Malta Parks or that there was asbestos present, nor did I know what asbestos was,” he said, pointing out that the shooting involved a limited crew and limited time spent at the site for both videos.

While the Winter Moods video was shot in May, when the building was still full of asbestos, the other clip was filmed in November, when the site had been mostly cleared.

“In both cases… we didn’t break open any doors to get inside, and we thought the location was abandoned,” he said, pointing out that police officers turned up during the May shoot and left saying they could carry on, when they explained they were shooting a video.

A spokesman for Malta Industrial Parks said the contractor still has to carry out some final testing before certifying the site as risk free.

He insisted that MIP had given no permission for this filming and had only become aware of the filming during the past week, following questions by the press.

However, when asked why MIP had not acted earlier, seeing as it was alerted to the problem, the spokesman pointed to the tender for the cleaning, which closed last March.

Back in 2008, health authorities had given MIP three days to clear the site after the asbestos roof had collapsed.

The agency had said the deadline was impossible to meet but pledged to start a process to choose a contractor that could clean the place.