Australian Mine Ships Illegal Asbestos

March 1, 2007 - The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) has reported that the Alcan mine in Gove has shipped red asbestos into the country’s Northern Territory illegally.  A report by an Australian news station states that the union president alerted authorities as to the presence of the deadly material after being told asbestos had been found in gaskets sent to Alcan's G3 site. 

Union leader Jamey Robertson says he alerted Customs immediately when he determined that workers may be in danger.  He adds that it has now been confirmed Alcan knew it was purchasing the substance.

"Then the next day [after he alerted Customs] some documentation came through, we're not too sure where it came from but it certainly indicates it's an internal report to Alcan that says [the asbestos] was identified in Vietnam and brought into the country knowingly," Robertson said.  "This has been illegal for over three or four years."

A spokesman for Alcan, however, claims that the dangerous red asbestos was imported accidentally. 

"[The gaskets] were isolated, tested and they were found to contain asbestos, however they've been disposed of and it's not a normal practice within Alcan," explained Stefano Bertolli.  "These are not in our standards and we are now working with the suppliers in Thailand to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Bertolli says the asbestos has been disposed of in a proper manner and is no longer a safety hazard to employees.

"These were identified on site and they were disposed of, we even had a site communication to make sure that employees were aware they were red in color…that if there were any identified that they would be isolated quickly and disposed of in the appropriate manner," he said.