10% Of Small Australian Mining Town Already Dead From Asbestos - At Least Another 10% Will Die

[hatrack]

THE Aboriginal community which mined asbestos for James Hardie Industries faces devastation from fatal cancers and lung diseases, with a new study predicting virtually every family will be touched. The report, commissioned by Hardie and carried out by actuaries KPMG, predicts more than 10 per cent of the NSW north coast community of Baryulgil will contract asbestos disease, on top of the 10 per cent who have already died or become ill.

But lawyers representing Baryulgil residents say recent medical tests show a far greater number of residents already display evidence of asbestos disease. The new findings mark the latest chapter in a long history of scandal concerning asbestos at Baryulgil, which during the mining years from 1942 to 1979 had a population of about 350. That has now dwindled to around 200.

A 1984 federal parliamentary report found Hardie dodged health regulations and was still exposing its workers to unlawful levels of asbestos when it sold the mine in 1976. The parliamentary inquiry heard evidence from a former mine manager that the dust levels at the plant were so high that "when you walked in it was impossible to see anywhere". He estimated that adequate dust control would have cost between $70,000 and $80,000, but Hardie did not regard it as worthwhile expenditure.

Hardie initially excluded the people of Baryulgil from its $1.5billion asbestos compensation package, but buckled after The Australian revealed they would be the only Australians left out.

EDIT

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21850188-23289,00.html

[oldgrowth]

1. Sounds like Libby, Montana ,link

Nestled below the rugged peaks of the Northern Rockies and along the crystal-clear Kootenai River lies the small town of Libby, Montana - an ironic setting for a town where many hundreds of people are sick or have already died from asbestos exposure. The Environmental Protection Agency calls Libby the worst case of community-wide exposure to a toxic substance in U.S. history. Libby, Montana is a journey into the world of a hard-working, blue-collar community that exemplifies the American Dream gone horribly wrong.

http://www.highplainsfilms.org/fp_libby.html
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2000/05/libby.html?welcome=true