Wittenoom Unsafe To Visit: Asbestos Diseases Society Of Australia Urges Tourists To Stay Away
The Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia (ADSA) has launched a community education campaign to discourage visitors to the closed mining town of Wittenoom, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
ADSA CEO Melita Markey spoke to On the Record’s Jeff Bullen about the importance of informing people of the risk, the history of the town and the mining of blue asbestos, the need to clean up the area to make it safer, and also about ASDA’s petition for permanent memorials to those who have died as a result of asbestos exposure from the mine or from living in Wittenoom.
As the time between initial asbestos exposure and the onset of symptoms is usually 20 to 50 years, ADSA will also be allocating space on the memorials for the hundreds, even thousands, of victims that have yet to be diagnosed.
Ms Markey encourages visiting other amazing locations around WA instead of Wittenoom these school holidays, and urges people to sign ASDA’s petition.
