The City of Geelong in Victoria has decided it is time to start working on a solution to remove asbestos from public coastal land in North Geelong, in the State of Victoria.
After receiving expert advice on the best possible solutions for removing asbestos, the council will work with the Environment Protection Authority to formulate an action plan.
These actions come after a Geelong Advertiser investigation revealed that the area has been contaminated with asbestos for at least 20 years.
It has been reported that the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), who are said to have initially owned the land, have known about the asbestos at this site for around some time. However they apparently did not take any action as they claim on every inspection of the site there was only minimal amounts of asbestos.
This public costal area is now managed by the council and they are committed to cleaning up the site and finding the best way to remove all asbestos.
The removal of asbestos from any public area is important as even minimal exposure to asbestos can lead to a person developing the cancer of mesothelioma. Victorian mesothelioma compensation claims have been brought following a person being exposed to relatively small amounts of asbestos then developing mesothelioma.
