The discovery of asbestos last week at the Lithgow SES in New South Wales and RFS headquarters in NSW has resulted in this building being closed. An audit revealed to the New South Wales Emergency Service that asbestos is present at the council owned building.
While the presence of asbestos has been confirmed, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to find out how bad the contamination is and how to address the issue. The SES and RFS will both temporarily operate from different locations however it has been confirmed that these services will not be affected.
Everything necessary for these services to operate has been moved by members wearing all the appropriate protective clothing into these new temporary headquarters. These precautions are extremely important as even minimal exposure to asbestos can lead to people contracting asbestos related diseases. Some these diseases include asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Unfortunately, mesothelioma in New South Wales and asbestosis in New South Wales has been a problem for many decades. It is thought that the number of those suffering mesothelioma in NSW and asbestosis in NSW will continue to rise. Cases of mesothelioma in New South Wales occur regularly.
