Asbestos and radioactive material from the Club Med site was accidentally shipped to the US, a Government official admitted last night.

Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Engineering Robert Horton said an inquiry has been launched after the US authorities discovered the materials on a ship arriving in New Jersey. They sent them back to Bermuda amid safety concerns.

"There were two containers shipped to New Jersey, one of which we expected to have contained scrap metal but which actually contained asbestos. Apparently there was some mix up," he told The Royal Gazette last night. "The container with the asbestos, which should have been directed to the Government quarry, was inadvertently shipped to the US rather than the container with the scrap metal.

"Once it reached the US its content was discovered and it was returned to Bermuda.

"The second container contained a boiler. The asbestos had been removed and it was shipped to the US. When it arrived, it was tested and there were signs of radioactive materials. It was decided to ship it back to Bermuda so the radioactive material could be removed.

"The boiler was intended for the US, it was not sent by accident. That was where it was going to be disposed of.

"Those boilers had been there (at Club Med) for 40 years. We were aware of asbestos content but had no knowledge of radioactive material. It was discovered in the US and we understand that they are very low levels of radioactivity, unlikely to cause harm to anybody."

Mr. Horton said he had only been informed of the incident yesterday evening when he got a call from a reporter from ZBM news, which first broke the story on its evening television report.

He said the details were sketchy, and he should be able to provide more information over the weekend. He could not say which ship the materials were transported on, or when and how the error occurred.

However, he stressed: "A full inquiry has been launched."

The containers had not arrived back in Bermuda last night and Mr. Horton had yet to speak with Building Block, the contractor responsible for removing asbestos from Club Med.

No-one from the company could be reached by this newspaper for comment.

The Club Med site in St. George's has been derelict for over 20 years. It is being demolished to make way for a new Park Hyatt hotel and golf course.

In a press statement on Thursday, Minister of Works and Engineering Derrick Burgess said the Department of Health had been closely monitoring the asbestos removal over the past few months.

The hotel is due for its final demolition through an "implosion" on Monday August 25.