WRITTEN QUESTION E-3390/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (23 October 1997)

Subject: Threats to the safety and property of residents of Athens from the construction of the 'metro'

Some extremely alarming incidents have occurred during construction work on the Athens underground railway which raise serious questions as to how safe it is to continue with the work at certain points in Athens. For example, a kiosk in the centre of the city has already collapsed, a crack has appeared in an eight-storey building in the heart of Athens, while one of the most central roads in the city, Panepistimiou, has subsided by 50 centimetres. Vehicles have already been banned from using the road and now so have pedestrians because of the danger of further subsidence.

The fact that the subsoil beneath the Greek capital is unstable, that the region is extremely susceptible to earthquakes and that building materials are of dubious quality have created enormous anxiety among the people of Athens, whose safety and property are under severe threat.

Given that the Commission is jointly funding the entire project, will it say:

1. whether it knows if detailed and reliable studies of the subsoil in Athens have been carried out,

2. what the findings of those studies are,

3. whether full checks are carried out to establish that the building materials used are of excellent quality and meet specifications or whether they are imported unexamined from third countries (e.g. Turkey) without quality control,

4. whether these materials were subjected to laboratory tests to ensure that they are suitable for the seismic and unstable land on which Athens is built before being used to construct the Metro, and

5. how it will act to protect the health, safety and property of the people of Athens?

Answer given by Mrs Wulf- Mathies on behalf of the Commission (5 December 1997)

The public limited company 'Attiko Metro', which is the awarding authority of the major project for the Athens underground railway, has confirmed that:

- a complete set of geological, geotechnical, geophysical and hydrological surveys has been carried out. Boreholes have also been drilled, on average every 15 metres where the quality of the soil is satisfactory, but every 10 metres when the soil quality is poor.

- on the basis of the results of the studies and drilling, all the appropriate measures are taken to ensure the safety of the buildings when the tunnel is drilled (use of piles, concrete injection, soil improvement). Nevertheless, the area directly above the tunnel is always at risk since the test holes and studies cannot always detect the presence of wells, pipes or underground rivers which might be in between the 15 or 10 metre drilling intervals. Incidents such as the rupture of the roadway directly over the tunnel can therefore occur. Incidents endangering the safety of buildings are ruled out.

- the construction materials used come either from the Member States or from other European countries and are always certified by laboratories accredited by the Community. Additional tests and sample checks are also carried out by the awarding authority.

- the tunnel and stations are being built in compliance with the most recent anti-seismic regulations in force in Greece. For those parts of the construction which are not covered by the above-mentioned regulations, the regulations adhered to are those in force in California, the most seismic area in the United States.

The protection of the health, safety and property of the people of Athens is the responsibility of the Greek authorities.