Posts Tagged australia
Australian couple defies warnings to leave contaminated town
Posted by Marc in Asbestos Exposure on July 6, 2010
In a story a bit out of left field, an Australian news outlet profiles a couple who have decided to continue life in a former asbestos mining town that has been all but quarantined by the Australian government.
Mario Hartmann and Gail Malcom are one of only eight remaining residents in the barren Western Australian town of Wittenoom. Once a booming mining town in the 1950s and 1960s, Wittenoom attracted new residents to fill high-paying mining jobs. But the closure of the mine in 1966 amid concerns of asbestos’ toxicity commenced the town’s slow demise into its current state.
The town is no longer recognized by the government, after a massive cleanup attempt failed to lower asbestos levels in the area. Maps and road signs now warn travelers to keep windows closed and to stay in one’s vehicle when passing through, and the government has eliminated all basic services in the area – essentially rendering Wittenoom a ghost town.
But these dire warnings don’t seem to bother Hartmann and Malcom, the latter being the first person to move to the town in decades and subsequently meeting her future husband when everyone else seemed to be moving out. For them, it seems leaving the town they met was unthinkable – as they turned turn a government offer of $43,000 to move out.
Asbestos records missing in Australia
Posted by Emily in Mesothelioma on May 5, 2008
Especially since the death of asbestos crusader Bernie Banton, Australia has been making great strides in mesothelioma research.
Unfortunately, asbestos research in Australia is now facing a significant set-back. Federal records of 1,000 mesothelioma cases have been lost. The files contained details regarding symptoms, treatment, and causes of Australian mesothelioma patients. When researchers recently requested the information, a federal government department admitted to having “potentially lost” the records.
A Sydney geologist had requested the information as part of a study to determine how exposure to high concentrations of naturally-occurring asbestos affects people. In searching for the impact of these “hot spots,” he hoped to use the history of past mesothelioma patients.
The lost files contained data collected in the 1980s in one of the world’s most comprehensive mesothelioma surveys. The records were put into storage in 2001 and have not been found since the search efforts began early last year. Read the story here.
Asbestos campaigner remembered
Today in Australia, asbestos campaigner Bernie Banton was honored by friends and family during the International Day of Mourning for Dead and Injured Workers. Banton spent much of his lifetime advocating for asbestos justice by working for changes in compensation legislation and fighting to have the mesothelioma drug Alimta included on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. He died last November at age 61 from mesothelioma.
Mourners gathered today at Reflection Park in Sydney’s Darling Harbor. Reverend Bruce Banton said of his brother, “My brother Bernie was one who stood up and was counted and stood for what he felt was right, and right until the end of his life he cared for others.”
A tenth of Australian carpenters will get mesothelioma
Posted by Emily in Mesothelioma on April 23, 2008
A study released in Melbourne last night announced that ten percent of Australian carpenters born before 1950 will die of mesothelioma. They will be among the 30,000 Australians to die of mesothelioma between 2000 and 2050.
The study was conducted by Professor Julian Peto, based on research and analysis of 600 mesothelioma patients. Peto found that the cause of the disease was mostly blue and brown asbestos, both of which were used liberally in construction until the 1980s. Even after Australia recognized the harm of blue asbestos, brown asbestos continued to be used.
According to The Australian, “Prof Peto’s research also revealed that Australia and the UK have the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world, with 600 cases per year in Australia and almost 2,000 in Britain, and figures are rising.” Prof Peto’s research also questions why it was once believed that asbestos exposure below a certain level would not cause harm.
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