Workers Fear Asbestos Exposure at Australian Hospital

Hundreds of workers involved in the construction of a $1.2 billion children’s hospital in Western Australia fear Chinese building products may have exposed them to asbestos. Officials with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) claim the atrium roof at the Perth Children’s Hospital project is “riddled” with asbestos and the inexpensive Chinese concrete panels put workers at risk. Complaints surfaced after one of the 25 workers building the hospital cut into a sealed roof panel and discovered a white powder he suspected was chrysotile, which is also known as white asbestos. Independent examinations on that roof panel confirmed asbestos in four of seven samples tested. Inspectors question if the rest of the 150 roof panels also contain asbestos. Although Australia banned the import of asbestos products in 2003, the recent problems reported at the children’s hospital and other Australian construction projects underline the reality that hazardous asbestos products continue entering the country. Asbestos Industry Association President Michael Shepherd told The Australian that customs officials check less than 5 percent of all imported products, and he asked for mandatory asbestos testing of all Chinese materials. “That will be a cost to industry, but it’s a fraction of the cost in the long term in terms of health impacts and managing the asbestos,” Shepherd said. “The other thing we need to do is gather intelligence in China — we ne...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: asbestos ban in australia asbestos exposure asbestos exposure at perth children's hospital asbestos exposure in australia asbestos in australian construction mesothelioma in australia yuanda asbestos exposure yuanda asbestos roof panels Source Type: news