British rail in the UK has paid the family of a former Swindon railway worker £60,000 in compensation for his death.

Mr Smith died in November 2010 from asbestos related cancer; he worked for British Rail for 26 years and during this time was continuously exposed to asbestos. His job over these years was to plaster white asbestos over steam boilers.

Many others who worked along side Mr Smith have also passed away from asbestos related diseases such as mesothelioma.

Asbestos exposure was common for these rail workers in the past and it has been reported that in Swindon alone, around 107 people have died from asbestos related illness in the last three years.

These rail workers are certainly not the only ones who were exposed to asbestos. In Australia for a large part of the 1900s, asbestos was used widely all around the country.

Asbestos was used in so many manufactured goods thus exposure spread to many people from different occupations including railway workers. Asbestos was used in the manufacture of trains, the brakes and clutches were often themselves made from asbestos materials.

This exposure to asbestos in the past has been a major health risk for so many rail workers around the world, including Australia. This exposure to asbestos can see these rail workers develop asbestos related diseases just like Phillip Smith did including the disease mesothelioma.

There have been many asbestos compensation claims in Australia form former railway workers.

It is noted that in South Australia, there is a memorial to all those who died from asbestos conditions, including mesothelioma, at Jack Watkins park located on the site of the old Islington Railway Yard. Like in other states, asbestos compensation in South Australia, including mesothelioma compensation, has been paid to former South Australian railway workers who developed asbestos conditions such as mesothelioma.

The management and removal of asbestos has been given priority in parts of Queensland as a result of Dr Bruce Flegg, the Queensland Minister for Housing and Public Works, requesting a long-term plan to be formulated for the management and removal of asbestos from all Government buildings in Queensland.

Exposure to asbestos is a serious health risk as it can lead to asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Dr Flegg has confirmed asbestos to be present within government buildings in Queensland including public housing. He confirms what is needed to reduce future contamination and exposure to asbestos is a variety of targeted strategies.

Included in this new approach are new strategies for managing and controlling asbestos in government houses and workplaces and cost-effective solutions for removing and disposing of all asbestos materials.

Dr Flegg has recognized that mesothelioma cases are expected to rise within the next 10 years due to the high level of asbestos which was used in the past. He is committed to taking steps to reducing the rise of mesothelioma by implementing these strategies that will reduce to risk of future contamination and exposure to asbestos. The longer nothing is done the more people are at risk, thus these strategies must be implemented for the health of all people living in Queensland.

Queensland mesothelioma compensation claims have been commenced in the past following a person contracting mesothelioma as a result of exposure to relatively small amounts of asbestos.

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.