Australian Navy violates asbestos rules

On January 1, 2004, Australia put into place a strict, nationwide ban on the importation or use of any asbestos containing products or materials. In essence, Australia had declared its intention to eventually become an asbestos free nation, and the ban on cancer causing chrysotile asbestos, in its original legislative language, offered no exemptions.

Chrysotile or white asbestos is the most common form of the material, and it has been proven to cause malignant mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly cancer, though, the Australian Navy continues to expose its sailors and other personnel to asbestos five years after the ban against the material was enacted. All this according to a report prepared for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) by SYPAQ-Systems, a leading Australian defense contractor.

According to the SYPAQ report, the ADF could eventually be charged with violations of national work safety laws that could result in $100 million or more in fines. The report further points out that, if Navy or other personnel contract asbestos caused cancer due to unlawful exposures to the hazardous material, the resulting liability dollar amounts could rise dramatically. According to the report, "potentially catastrophic" asbestos exposures are a frequent occurrence for thousands of Navy personnel, though, when questioned by the media, ADF spokespersons have repeatedly rejected the idea that there exists a serious problem.

According to the defense contractor's findings, as stated in the SYPAQ report, Australian naval stores are currently housing approximately 250,000 asbestos containing parts that are still routinely shipped to seagoing vessels and naval bases. The report states that, in the five years following the ban against asbestos in Australia, navy ships and bases have received 350 deliveries of approximately 775 asbestos containing items-all such shipments in violation of the 2004 ban.

The ADF's main warehouse in Moorebank houses thousands of asbestos containing parts, a significant number of these items packed in cartons or crates that bear no asbestos warning labels. When questioned on the matter, Australia's Defense Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, called the current situation "unacceptable" and vowed to take action on the matter. Additionally, the ADF's health service branch has issued declarations wherein it stipulates to the fact that chrysotile asbestos is a dangerous carcinogen that must be eliminated from all areas of Australian industrial and national defense applications.

ADF Asbestos Use Exemptions Expired in 2007

Immediately subsequent to the enactment of the national ban on asbestos, the ADF applied for, and was granted, a conditional exemption from the law-an exemption that allowed for the ADF's continued use of asbestos containing parts until the year 2007. However, this exemption contained strict language that limited immunity from the asbestos ban to "mission critical" parts for which no asbestos free alternatives could be found. Nevertheless, countless asbestos containing items that don't qualify for an exemption remain in ADF use today.

The government's original issuance of the asbestos ban exemption was widely criticized by numerous health, private, and public organizations. Specifically, the government's Safety and Compensation Council faced increased condemnation recently when the agency renewed the ADF's expired exemption until the year 2010. The many vocal critics of the exemption-and renewal-point out that every other industry in the country achieved compliance with the life saving ban on asbestos-the conclusion being that the ADF can and must do the same. Despite much opposition to the current exemption, it remains a mater of Australian law. Critics of the government allowed ADF asbestos violations state that, eventually, numerous cancer deaths will be the price to be paid.

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