Over Christmas, work is set to begin to remove asbestos from some of Sydney’s small underground power stations. Ausgrid has confirmed that the procedure will consist of removing asbestos from 10 small electricity substations around Sydney CBD including ones at Circular Quay and Hyde Park.
This course of action comes after the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) last month revealed documents which suggested that 49 cases of asbestos related diseases including mesothelioma and asbestosis over the past 22 years were connected to the company. ETU confirmed that asbestos was present in underground electricity substations and meter boards in Sydney and called on Ausgrid to undertake an inspection and remove all asbestos.
The removal and remediation of the asbestos will take place during the night to reduce the amount of disturbance to the public and only a small amount of people are expected to be run into electricity problems.
The presence of asbestos is due to asbestos being a regularly used material before the 1980s in the power industry. This resulted in many people being exposed to asbestos and contracting asbestos related illnesses including asbestosis and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma in Australia is expected to peak within the next decade. In order to assist Australians suffering asbestos conditions, various Australian states have introduced legislation which helps such persons pursue asbestos compensation claims in Australia, including both asbestosis compensation in Australia and mesothelioma compensation in Australia.
