Australia Takes Final Steps to Close Down Asbestos Town
October 2nd, 2007
The government of Western Australia is continuing its effort to literally wipe the asbestos-plagued town of Wittenoom off the map.
According to an article on Media-Newswire, “since the Western Australian Government had announced its intentions to proceed to close the town in 2006, many essential services to the area including electricity and municipal services have been withdrawn, and water was now restricted to five specific permanent residences. Wittenoom’s status as a townsite and a placename has also been removed.”
“Recent research undertaken by GHD and Parsons Brinckerhoff into asbestos contamination in Wittenoom, which was independently reviewed by the Department of Health, has clearly identified unacceptable health risks from exposure to asbestos, and residents and tourists are urged to avoid the area,” announced Regional Development Manager Jon Ford earlier this week.
The government has made every attempt to encourage all Wittenoom residents to leave this small town, which was the site of a crocidolite (blue) asbestos mine beginning in the 1930s. More than 1,000 of the 20,000 or so people who lived and worked their in the 1950s and early 1960s, at the height of asbestos mining, have already died of asbestos-related diseases. Australia’s National Health Council expects that the number of deceased will eventually reach more than 2,000. Crocidolite is among the most dangerous of all types of asbestos.
“While 17 Wittenoom properties have already been purchased by the Government since May 2006, I urge all other land owners in this precinct to strongly consider the health risks and take advantage of our limited offer to purchase their property,” added Ford. The government’s offer runs out at the end of the year.
