Asbestos contamination W.A

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Guys, i picked this up on another site, if anyone is interested.


The area in and around Wittenoom is heavily contaminated with blue asbestos fibres. Exposure to these fibres presents a public health risk that could result in mesothelioma, lung cancer or asbestosis.

"Travelling in the area should be avoided."

More information can be found at www.wa.gov.au/wittenoom

Government of Western Australia
Department of Local Government and Regional Development
Tel: ( 08 ) 9217 1406
Fax: ( 08 ) 9217 1555
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.dlgrd.wa.gov.au
__________________

[mildew Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mildew]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

Guys, i picked this up on another site, if anyone is interested.


The area in and around Wittenoom is heavily contaminated with blue asbestos fibres. Exposure to these fibres presents a public health risk that could result in mesothelioma, lung cancer or asbestosis.

"Travelling in the area should be avoided."

More information can be found at http://www.wa.gov.au/wittenoom

Government of Western Australia
Department of Local Government and Regional Development
Tel: ( 08 ) 9217 1406
Fax: ( 08 ) 9217 1555
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.dlgrd.wa.gov.au
__________________

Used to go in there for work a few years back but no more as the town has closed, although a few die hard locals have remained there. Piles of blue asbestos tailings are about 50 feet high. The stuff is everywhere ***cough cough***

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

Passed through here in September 1998. Was an interesting town but even then it looked pretty abandoned.

[mav Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close mav]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

Well isn't that just peachy? How about the WA Government do something a bit more pro-active to nuetralise the area or do we have to see skull and cross bone signs scattered around ex-mining sites as a legacy for our children and their children? :x

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

A Favourite Destination - NOT!!!

Wittenoom Warning Fact Sheet

[photoprado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close photoprado]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

Ask the Aborigines the mining company employed and gave them blue asbestos tailings to build their humpys out of.

The only reason it isn't all cleaned up is because a succession of people one way or another have failed to recognise and shoulder their responsibilities.

Pretty sad affair all round.

[peteandkyles Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peteandkyles]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

We lived in Dampier and drove to Wittenoom a few times in the late 90's early 2000 (all bc - before kids). As long as you stay on the bittumen and don't stir up the dust, it's quite safe. We were very careful when we were walking about as there was even piles of it in town. It was embeded in the bittumen and everywhere.

The gorges around the area are absolutelly spectacular. Asbestos is part of the natural geology in the area and there is some even in Karajini National Park has it, but it's contained in the layers of rock (banded iron formation) and is safe. Its part of the same rock that Rio and BHP mine, just below the layers they mine. The drillers are always on the lookout for it so that they don't drill too far and expose it.

[Golly Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Golly]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

We lived in Dampier and drove to Wittenoom a few times in the late 90's early 2000 (all bc - before kids). As long as you stay on the bittumen and don't stir up the dust, it's quite safe. We were very careful when we were walking about as there was even piles of it in town. It was embeded in the bittumen and everywhere.

The gorges around the area are absolutelly spectacular. Asbestos is part of the natural geology in the area and there is some even in Karajini National Park has it, but it's contained in the layers of rock (banded iron formation) and is safe. Its part of the same rock that Rio and BHP mine, just below the layers they mine. The drillers are always on the lookout for it so that they don't drill too far and expose it.

Yes we have asbestos in the mine here. There always doing air quality checks

[Rainman Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rainman]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

My wife was born in Wittenoom and every couple of years she gets a free chest xray :shock: . I took her back there for the first time since she was born in mid 80's and the place was still a functioning town with all the infrastructure.

At the end of the gorge we found the old power station for the mine, it looked like they had litterally closed the door at the end of a shift and left it as is. It looked almost untouched since the door was closed. There was a workshop off to one side that still had all the tools sitting on benchs and shadow boards, if only I'd bought a trailer with me. :!:

The next time we went back was in 2003, the place was a ghost town, most buildings had been demolished, there were no government services and lots of warning signs as you headed into town. A mate who travelled with us and has a well known 4wd website in Perth posted pics of the trip including pictures of Wittenoom. Several years later he was contacted by the WA goverment and told to either remove the pictures or post a link to the warning listed earlier.

Interestingly if you talk to the few locals left, they claim that air testing showed that there was less asbestos particles in the air in Wittenoom than there was at Tom Price where they mine iron ore. Apparently asbestos and iron ore are often found hand in hand. Air testing at Wittenoom has since ceased.

Its a shame that the place has being wiped off the map, there is some really nice country up there, especially out towards the mine. I dont think I'd go back there again though.

[sparksy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sparksy]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

What a lot of people dont know is that the asbestos was "exported" out of Point Sampson, near Rouborne. The dept of land admin developed some land there in mid Eighties, only to find out just before they went on sale that it was the land where they stored the bags of asbestos before they were loaded onto ships.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

The inhabitants used to spread the stuff all around their houses, footpaths, driveways, etc to "keep the red dust down".

You can still pass through the town on the way to Hammersly Gorge. There are a couple of waterholes but not much else worth seeing. I think there was only 3 houses still occupied but they cut off the power, phone, water supplies etc.

[peteandkyles Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close peteandkyles]

Re: Asbestos contamination W.A

I used to work with a guy that grew up in Whittenoom and he was telling me how they used to go toboganing on the old waste piles as kids. The asbestos tailing were aparently realy slippery and fun.

Lats time we were there some 6 years ago, we tried to go down the Yampire Gorge road to Tom Price, but it had already been closed. A shame. I saw some photos from it and they were absolutelly spectacular, but the road is covered with naturally occuring asbestos.

Hamersley Gorge is realy nice, especially if you are geologically minded. At the bottom of the gorge you can see all the high grade iron ore layers that Rio and BHPB mine. Amazing site. It's also a refreshing swim in the hot summer.