Asbestos drill risk 'sat on'

Flashback ... one of the training exercises. Photo: Dean Sewell

Related coverage

Flashback: Holsworthy training exercise

By Jano Gibson and AAP March 8, 2006 - 12:22PM

The NSW Fire Brigade is examining why it took at least six months for emergency workers to be told of

asbestos exposure during anti-terrorist exercises at a Sydney army barracks.

NSW Fire Brigade chief Commissioner Greg Mullins could not explain why Defence personnel, fire

officers, nurses, ambulance staff and other emergency workers were not notified until last week of the

risks when the brigade became aware of the asbestos at Holsworthy Barracks last September, saying it

was another matter under investigation.

The demolition site was found to contain potentially lethal levels of asbestos in large piles of rubble used

to resemble collapsed city buildings.

"We are trying to get a handle on the numbers but it is a relatively low number and they are very short

term exposures,'' he said.

"We are not sure whether the asbestos was there before the site was occupied, whether it was introduced

in the rubble pile that was put at the site or whether it was introduced later.''

But Mr Mullins, whose own work at the site has put him at "low risk'', conceded any exposure to asbestos

could be lethal.

Only a handful of elite fire officers who worked extensively at the site may be at high risk, he said.

"Anybody who has been to the site of course has concerns but we want those concerns to be tempered by

proper scientific and medical information and not by sensationalism,'' he said.

Mr Mullins said the fire brigade had sent out thousands of staff emails, alerted other agencies who had

used the site and personally contacted the premier, who visited the site several times.

He also said a hotline had been set up and fact sheets had been distributed.

"The Department of Health will be registering anybody who has been to the site so they can be monitored

over the coming years,'' he said.

But it could take more than 30 years for those exposed to asbestos to learn if they have contracted killer

diseases related to the toxic material, the Dust Diseases Board told smh.com.au today.

"The latency period can be anywhere from 30 to 40 to 50 years. That's the nature of this disease,'' said

Dust Diseases Board executive officer Geoff Lansley.

He said the board was in discussion with the NSW Fire Brigades about screening every member of the

brigade for asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer.

There was no urgency for those working at the Holsworthy site to undergo immediate screening because

it takes so long for related diseases to arise, he said.

"Nothing's going to show because it's just too soon after the event,'' he said.

Those exposed would need to undergo screening every two to three years so doctors could monitor any

changes, he said.

Mr Mullins said an inquiry was also underway into why there were no checks conducted for asbestos

when NSW took control of the site in 2004.

Unions NSW secretary John Robertson said there were no safe levels of exposure.

"One asbestos fibre can cause mesothelioma, you only need to inhale one fibre and then it takes hold in

your lungs and you've got those sorts of diseases," he told ABC radio.

Mr Robertson said police had also used the site, along with SES volunteers who lay in the rubble

pretending to be victims, drama students and journalists.

"It is quite alarming for those people to find out that they may well have been exposed."

Darryl Snow, president of the NSW Fire Brigade Employees Union, said the government should consider

providing a counselling service.

A Defence spokesman said the department was trying to identify soldiers who used the site.

AAP

This story is from our news.com.au network Source: AAP

Training site 'asbestos risk low' March 08, 2006 EMERGENCY service workers had only a low risk of contracting asbestos-related illnesses after being exposed to the substance during anti-terrorism exercises, NSW Premier Morris Iemma said today. Defence and emergency personnel have been advised that rubble used to simulate collapsed buildings at the Holsworthy Army Barracks in Sydney might have contained deadly asbestos. Mr Iemma today told Parliament an independent scientific assessment had found the asbestos posed minimal threat to human health. "It confirms the risk of exposure, such as those at the site, leading to an asbestos-induced illness, is generally considered to be low," the Premier said. "The site was used, from time to time, by the NSW Fire Brigades and other emergency services for specialised rescue training."

Fire Brigade knew six months ago March 08, 2006 THE NSW Fire Brigade is examining why it took at least six months for emergency workers to

be told of asbestos exposure during anti-terrorist exercises at a Sydney army barracks.

Defence personnel, fire officers, nurses, ambulance staff and other emergency workers were told last

week they may have contracted life-threatening illnesses during training at Holsworthy Army Barracks.

The demolition site was found to contain lethal levels of asbestos in huge piles of rubble used to resemble

collapsed city buildings.

NSW Fire Brigade chief Commissioner Greg Mullins today denied media reports the organisation had

known about the asbestos threat for more than a year.

"We first became aware of the possibility of asbestos in September last year," Mr Mullins told ABC

radio.

Following the discovery, he said the site was no longer used to conduct exercises.

Asked why it took at least six months for the revelations to come to light, Mr Mullins said: "That's what

we are investigating now, and we have sought the assistance of Work Cover."

He said an inquiry was also underway into why there were no checks conducted for asbestos when NSW

took control of the site in 2004.

"That's what we are trying to ascertain and I just don't know the facts, and I don't think anybody knows

the facts at the moment," he said.

Mr Mullins said media reports that emergency workers had been told they were going to die from the

disease were irresponsible.

"The scientific assessment in fact says that there is a low level of risk of illness," he said.

But Unions NSW secretary John Robertson said there were no safe levels of exposure.

"One asbestos fibre can cause mesothelioma, you only need to inhale one fibre and then it takes hold in

your lungs and you've got those sorts of diseases," he told ABC radio.

Mr Robertson said police had also used the site, along with SES volunteers who lay in the rubble

pretending to be victims, drama students and journalists.

"It is quite alarming for those people to find out that they may well have been exposed."

Darryl Snow, president of the NSW Fire Brigade Employees Union, said the government should consider

providing a counselling service.

A Defence spokesman said the department was trying to identify soldiers who used the site.

ABC Online

PM - Authorities play down asbestos risk at training site [This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1587122.htm]

PM - Wednesday, 8 March , 2006 18:35:00

Reporter: Stephen Skinner

MARK COLVIN: There are lots of worried emergency services personnel in New South Wales today after the news that a site they've been using for counterterrorism training is contaminated with asbestos. Authorities are investigating the source of contaminated building rubble that emergency workers have been crawling through at the Holsworthy base, south of Sydney. The rubble was heaped up in big piles on the training site to simulate collapsed buildings. It may have been provided by demolishers from building sites outside. The scare's put the spotlight on shonky demolition firms, and it seems there are plenty of them out there. Stephen Skinner reports. STEPHEN SKINNER: Across Australia, building waste contaminated with asbestos is supposed to be wrapped in plastic and buried in special landfills. Of course, that costs more money than simply dumping it in the bush, using it for industrial fill somewhere else or selling it to a rubble recycler.

Ross Mitchell is President of the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association of New South Wales. He says there are a lot of cowboy-licensed operators out there, who don't care where asbestos, mostly in the form of fibro, ends up. ROSS MITCHELL: We've got asbestos that an the moment is in buildings and in situ maybe fine while it's sitting there until somebody disturbs it. Well, if we're going to go and … if we remove it properly, take it straight from the source where the asbestos is and put it straight into the ground where it come from or designated landfills where it will get handled correctly, that's fine. But if we're going to go and have all this contaminated rubble get mixed up and strewn around everywhere from roads to other building sites to driveways, well then we've got a problem. We're just going to spread it and create more of an enormous issue than what we've got now. STEPHEN SKINNER: Brian Seidler is Executive Director of the Master Builders Association of New South Wales. He says New South Wales is behind other States in allowing untrained homeowners to demolish entire fibro houses on their own. BRIAN SEIDLER: So you or I could actually remove hundreds of square metres of asbestos, if it's in our home, without having to be licensed. However, if we have a contractor come in and do that, it does become a workplace, or a place of work, and then of course you're subject to the occupational health and safety legislation. So you could get into the crazy situation where a do-it-yourself person is certainly removing asbestos in huge quantities, if their homes have huge quantities, without being subject to any real safety legislation. STEPHEN SKINNER: John Dengate from the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority agrees that old asbestos cement sheeting, better known as fibro, is the biggest problem. He says that in December the EPA forced a company, which he couldn't name, to spend $2-million properly disposing of fibro-contaminated rubble that it was going to use for industrial purposes. JOHN DENGATE: I guess what had happened is buildings had been demolished that contained asbestos. That had not been done very carefully. The company that took the material then had not had it tested. And, look, sometimes if you just look at it you'll see little, tiny bits of fibro, which is a dead giveaway. Now that might be modern fibro, which is of course safe, but you absolutely have to get it tested to check what you're dealing with, both for your workers' safety and of course for your ability to use the product further.

STEPHEN SKINNER: One of Australia's leading researchers into asbestos-related disease is Professor Bruce Robinson from Perth. Professor Robinson puts the risks from asbestos-contaminated rubble into perspective. BRUCE ROBINSON: The average person on the street in Australia has got hundreds, thousands and even millions of fibres in their lungs simply by having grown up in Australia and having been exposed to it in a variety of situations, in a city in particular. STEPHEN SKINNER: So you'd have to say that being exposed to contaminated building rubble only marginally increases that risk? BRUCE ROBINSON: The risk to one individual who's exposed to contaminated building rubble wouldn't be very great. But when you have lots and lots of people exposed to such things, then within that group of people you will possibly start to see some cases of asbestos-induced cancer. MARK COLVIN: Professor Bruce Robinson, ending Steve Skinner's report.

© 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm

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Asbestos scare spreads to city rail station

Danger ignored ... workers lie in contaminated rubble during a mock terrorist attack at Holsworthy army

base last year. Photo: Dean Sewell

By Bonnie Malkin Urban Affairs Reporter March 9, 2006

RAIL workers will undergo medical examinations after asbestos was disturbed during building work at

Eastwood station, a day after revelations that thousands of emergency service workers might have been

exposed to the deadly dust at an army barracks.

The building material was found in a booking office at the station by contractors last week.

Speaking during question time in State Parliament yesterday, the Premier, Morris Iemma, revealed that

investigations into the discovery were under way and RailCorp would examine all staff for asbestos-

related disease.

The revelation came hours after unions warned thousands of emergency service workers, the former

premier Bob Carr and students from the National Institute of Dramatic Art may have been exposed to

asbestos dust at the Holsworthy army barracks.

The president of the NSW Fire Brigade Employees Union, Darryl Snow, yesterday confirmed firefighters

from several states had visited the training centre at Holsworthy since it opened in 2004 and "at least

1000, but up to 2000 people" might have been exposed to contaminated particles.

This followed revelations the NSW Fire Brigades found cement sheeting containing asbestos at the centre

in September but did not warn workers until last week.

The contaminated rubble was used to simulate fallen buildings during anti-terrorism training.

Mr Snow said it was "very lax" emergency workers and students had been allowed to come into contact

with asbestos and he would not rule out legal action against the NSW Fire Brigades.

"Cutting it, blowing it around, lying in it, crawling through it - it's everything you shouldn't do that's

happened," he said.

The secretary of Unions NSW, John Robertson, said the situation was the result of "sloppiness" on the

part of the emergency services. "Some organisation is responsible for not having undertaken the

appropriate checks before the material was dumped," he said.

Mr Robertson called for the Industrial Relations Minister, John Della Bosca, to set up a national register

for those who might have been affected.

Counselling should also be offered to anyone who had visited the site, he said.

The NSW Fire Brigade Employees Union also called for regular screening for all firefighters.

NSW Fire Brigades Commissioner, Greg Mullins, said an investigation was under way into why workers

had been kept in the dark for six months and acknowledged the brigade might be sued for negligence.

But he said that "money is no object when the welfare of staff is involved".

Mr Mullins said staff would be tested for exposure.

with AAP

DAILY LIBERAL Senior staff interview firies about asbestos Thursday, 9 March 2006 Firefighters across the region spent yesterday being interviewed by senior staff to determine if they had been exposed to deadly levels of asbestos at special training sessions in south-west Sydney.

Inspector Greg Lewis from Zone West Four, which includes Dubbo and surrounding areas, said they were

hoping to have contacted all firefighters by this morning to determine how many, if any, of them were in

danger.

The danger of deadly asbestos poisoning exists for any firefighter who attended the Holsworthy special

training site - a site that has been in use since 2004 for special terrorist related training.

Operated by the Fire Brigade the old Holsworthy Army Barracks site was taken over in 2004 after an

audit determined the State's emergency services were not adequately prepared for a terrorist attack.

Since then our emergency services have been climbing through rubble at the site meant to stimulate the

collapsed buildings that might occur in the case of a terrorist attack.

NSW police and ambulance officers have also taken part in the training.

Orana crime manager Detective Inspector Michael Willing yesterday told the Daily Liberal that no local

police officers have been involved in those special training sessions so were not exposed to the asbestos

poisoning at Holsworthy.

The Daily Liberal was still waiting for a response from the Ambulance Service at the time of going to

press.

NT fire officers may have been exposed to asbestos Thursday, 9 March 2006. 11:01 (ACST)

Six Northern Territory fire officers may have been exposed to high levels of asbestos during a training course in Sydney.

Police, fire and ambulance crews from across the country gathered at the Holsworthy Barracks last September for urban search and rescue exercises.

It has since been discovered that the site is contaminated with asbestos.

The director of Northern Territory Fire and Emergency Services, Bruce Mouatt, says two officers from Alice Springs and four from Darwin took part in the training.

"We've simply put in place all the bits and pieces to look after our guys," he said.

"You know we've given them information and we'll make sure they get a medical examination so that they're protected in the future.

"I have to say that all six of them are pretty unperturbed because in those circumstances and they're trained this way you know they were wearing protective equipment in any event."

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