Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Spodden Valley in Western Australia was once home to the largest asbestos factory in the world. Turner Brothers Asbestos factory covered 72 acres and mainly dealt with amosite, a form of brown asbestos. It is known that for over 100 years, Turner Brothers dumped tones of asbestos waste in the Spodden Valley, and the extent of contamination on and around the site is still yet to be determined. 

Asbestos is a known carcinogen that causes asbestos related lung diseases, such as mesothelioma, asbestos and cancer. Because of the extensive contamination on the land, the invisible microscopic asbestos fibers are likely to be airborne and easily inhaled or ingested by anyone on or near the site. Once inhaled, asbestos causes terminal diseases such as mesothelioma that take decades to develop and has no known cure.

 

The factory was demolished in 2004, and is now closed to traffic and warning signs of hazardous materials are posted to keep the public from entering. The Rochdale Council has been considering a planning application lodged in 2004 for the former asbestos site that encompasses building an urban development with 600 homes, community facilities and children’s nursery.

 

A recent landmark High Court decision that ruled against another similar council for negligence during remediation of a toxic site has the Rochdale Council reconsidering the development application. The High Court ruled that Corby Borough Council was negligent in the remediation of a former steel works site that led to environmental damage and alleged birth defects. 

 

The ruling, despite being appealed, has mesothelioma attorneys, anit-asbestos advocates and environmental campaigners urging the Rochdale Council to take precautionary measures before beginning any development on the land.  Specificaly they ask that the Council recognize its duty to protect the safety of the public, to assess the extent of the contamination, and do complete removal of all asbestos assuring the elimination of all risk to the long term health of residents in the area.