Australian news agency The Age disclosed on January 7th of 2009 that thousands of defense personnel had likely been exposed to asbestos because the navy, in particular, was still using asbestos parts on ships and bases illegally. Moreover, The Age reported that the Australian Defense Forces (ADF) had previously been warned by the government’s workplace watchdog, Comcare, that continuing use of asbestos products was jeopardizing the safety of its soldiers, sailors and air force personnel.
The public response triggered a good deal of finger pointing and proclaiming among Australian politicians and public officials. The use of asbestos has been banned in Australia since 2004 but the government there has continued to grant exemptions to the Navy. An organization that provides support for asbestosis and mesothelioma victims (two fatal diseases caused by asbestos) has demanded that a “royal commission” be appointed to investigate.
Another appeal that perhaps has a little more punch to it came two days after The Age ran its article. Australia’s union movement demanded that ALL asbestos should immediately be removed from Australia Defense Force bases and equipment as pressure builds on the ADF to belatedly rid itself of the deadly, and banned, carcinogen.
While the Australian government has ruled out an immediate ban on asbestos in the ADF, it has promised to “accelerate” its removal programs. After two days of protest the government also announced that it is considering holding a national inquiry into asbestos. According to the story in The Age nearly a quarter of a million spare parts and pieces of equipment that contained or were made from asbestos remains in Navy warehouses.
Asbestos bans in the Commonwealth countries have not been as stringent as those in the United States, nor have they been in place as long. Canada still produces ten percent of the world’s asbestos products; contractors in Maine and other states that border Canadian export centers have to be careful about the content of such products as wallboard when buying products from Canadian distributors.
In Australia, asbestos bans have become increasingly stringent over the last fifteen years but the exemptions for the Navy have been largely ignored until now. Asbestos activists, labor unions and opposition politicians are all crying foul over the continuing use of asbestos products.
A secret report to highly placed military officers — obtained by The Age under freedom-of-information laws — found “thousands of personnel “ had likely been exposed” and the consequences are potentially catastrophic”. See asbestos exposure.
David Oliver, national secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union — the union that represents Defense Department workers and contractors — yesterday wrote to acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard calling for an immediate ban on the use of asbestos in the ADF.
“Our members who are employed or contracted to the Defense Department are being exposed on a daily basis to this deadly fiber — five years after the national ban on asbestos was introduced in Australia. This is unacceptable,” he said.
In the United States, thousands of Navy veterans have been diagnosed with asbestos caused mesothelioma cancer and there are new cases every year. Asbestos doesn’t just disappear from Navy ships, it has to be removed. The U.S.S. Enterprise has its own asbestos abatement team on board ship today, more than thirty years after asbestos use was abandoned in this country.
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