The New South Wales state government has made the decision to hold off remediation works at the contaminated Woodsreef asbestos mine in New South Wales. This was decided to avoid disturbing the endangered large-eared bats which rest in a derelict building on the site.

The site is heavily toxic with a 75-metre pile of asbestos tailings and an old eight level building which is greatly contaminated with asbestos fibers. The public are at risk of being exposed from this toxic site given a public road divides the site and this is frequently used by the site’s neighbors.

A report has said that the NSW state government’s failure to take action in relation to the states derelict asbestos mine is putting the health of the public at risk and also showing inadequacy in asbestos management. Even Bruce Barbour, the NSW Ombudsman, has called the states decision to delay remedial works strange as these works are important to protect the community from the harmful effects of asbestos exposure. These health risks are very serious as even small amounts of asbestos exposure can cause a person to contract asbestosis and the cancer mesothelioma.

It is surprising that remedial work is yet to begin at the site which was closed in 1983 in light of Australia’s struggle with mesothelioma. Currently Australia has the one of the highest incidences of mesothelioma in the world and the number of new cases is expected to rise. It would thus seem that any steps to reduce the risk of mesothelioma should be taken immediately and not delayed. Mesothelioma asbestos claims in Australia are on the rise and this is a testament to the incidence of mesothelioma in Australia.

Over 27,000 tons of asbestos debris has been illegally dumped on a farm in upstate New York, resulting in the conviction of two men.

The asbestos debris was demolition material that had been shredded without the asbestos being removed. The dumping of asbestos is illegal in America, and also in Australia, as it is a known carcinogen that can cause asbestos related diseases such as asbestosis and the cancer mesothelioma.

The NBC revealed that prosecutors said that when agents arrived at the asbestos site they saw fresh bicycle marks on top of the asbestos piles, suggesting that children had been using the site and could have inhaled deadly asbestos fibres.

Unfortunately it is impossible to tell whether the children inhaled the asbestos, as asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma have a long latency period, meaning that if mesothelioma were to occur it would not manifest for decades.

There have been mesothelioma compensation claims in Australia involving children being exposed to asbestos from playing on asbestos debris. A terrible case occurred in New South Wales where mesothelioma compensation was claimed by a lady in her early 30s following exposure she had as a child in the West Australian blue asbestos mine at Wittenoom. Another case, being an asbestos compensation case in South Australia, occurred when a lady was also exposed to asbestos as a child.

Australia currently has one of the highest incidences of mesothelioma despite the official ban of asbestos use Australia-wide in 2004. This is because Australia was the highest user of asbestos per capita between around 1950 and 1980.
As such, many Australian states including NSW, Victoria and South Australia have introduced legislation to assist those suffering asbestos conditions pursue an asbestos compensation claim, such as a mesothelioma compensation claim, in Australia.

The health consequences of asbestos exposure are being felt heavily throughout Australia especially in Queensland where every six days one Queenslander is diagnosed with an asbestos related condition such as the cancer mesothelioma.

In an effort to reduce this figure the Queensland Government is working to set up an asbestos register which will identify legal asbestos dumping reserves. This will hopefully reduce the amount of illegal asbestos dumping that occurs which has seen local and State governments spend tens of millions of dollars per year cleaning up.

In additional to this, the Queensland Government has also allocated $1.5 million to fix high risk asbestos in government buildings mainly focusing on schools.

Asbestos exposure in schools has been a problem for a long time and is extremely scary because there is no way of knowing whether staff, children or contractors have been exposed to asbestos. This is a major challenge for the Queensland Government and they are even looking into placing labels on asbestos material in schools to reduce health risks.

Bruce Flegg Minister for Public Works and Housing has said that any asbestos removal plans implemented by the Queensland Government will increase the demand for more legal asbestos dumping areas and the establishment of a register. As these buildings are getting older the need grows to have safe areas were toxic asbestos waste can be dumped.

All of these plans being worked on by Queensland Government are steps to reduce the number of people that are contracting asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis. Hopefully these plans will contribute to creating an asbestos free Australia and reducing the number of new mesothelioma compensation cases in Queensland which experts have expected to peak over the next decade.

A house fire in the South Australia suburb of Windsor Gardens proved to be a bit tricky once firefighters became aware that the house was full of asbestos.

The fire started at around 4am due to an electric blanket being left on. It took sixteen firefighters half an hour to extinguish the blaze.

Nobody was harmed in the fire itself, but when asbestos material is destroyed, for example by burning, it may cause future harm. This is because asbestos fibres can be released and become airborne, and these asbestos fibres are very dangerous.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen, so if asbestos fibres are inhaled, the asbestos can cause asbestos related diseases such as asbestosis and the cancer mesothelioma, which can take decades to manifest.

Luckily the firefighters were informed of the asbestos’ presence, and followed standard safety procedures such as keeping the debris wet to prevent any asbestos fibres from becoming airborne.

South Australia is just one of Australia’s states that has legislation to assist those suffering asbestos conditions pursue an asbestos compensation claim, such as a mesothelioma compensation claim, in Australia. Other states with asbestos compensation legislation include NSW and Victoria.

Unfortunately, mesothelioma compensation claims in Australia have been brought by firefighters who have been exposed to asbestos during the course of their work.