Toukley ambulance station in coastal NSW has finally been declared safe after almost eight years of safety concerns regarding the presence of asbestos.
Workers discovered asbestos during renovations to the NSW station early last month, with NSW WorkCover immediately issuing a prohibition notice to block all access to the affected site in order to protect workers from asbestos exposure.
Toukley Ambulance Station has a long history with asbestos. WorkCover NSW was first alerted to the existence of asbestos in December 2004, when asbestos was identified and removed. Nine months later further remedial work was deemed necessary, and in April 2006 WorkCover NSW served an improvement notice on Toukley Ambulance Station requiring immediate action, with staff being immediately relocated to Wyong Hospital.
Exposure to asbestos can cause serious diseases such as asbestosis, asbestos related pleural disease, asbestos related pleural effusion, pleural mesothelioma, peritoneal mesothelioma and other asbestos-related conditions. As such, last month’s asbestos scare has been treated very seriously, with WorkCover NSW conducting extensive testing on the site and finally declaring it safe last week.
Asbestosis compensation in Australia and mesothelioma compensation in Australia unfortunately is regularly occurring given there have been some many persons affected with asbestos conditions.
