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Workers knowingly exposed to asbestos: union

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The construction union has accused the New South Wales Government of knowingly exposing workers and hundreds of public servants to asbestos.

The construction union has accused the New South Wales Government of knowingly exposing workers and hundreds of public servants to asbestos.Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union secretary Andrew Ferguson says workers refurbishing the Goodsell building in Sydney’s CBD may have been exposed to asbestos found on its exterior panels.Mr Ferguson says NSW Department of Commerce managers supervising the work have admitted they knew there was asbestos on the site but did not notify workers.He says union safety experts yesterday found the building was riddled with asbestos and he wants the State Government to investigate.”It was built in the 1950s or ’60s when asbestos was a common building product,” he said.”The department knew that. It in fact got the evidence on site that the refurbishment was going to encounter asbestos and they simply failed to tell the workers, who were then exposed.”But the department has denied knowingly putting workers at risk.A department spokesman says while there is some asbestos in the building, a report by a major engineering firm has found that material being disturbed during the refurbishment does not contain asbestos.He says a full-risk assessment and necessary safety checks were carried out before work on the site began.(Source: ABC Health, July 2004)


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Posted On: 26 July, 2004
Modified On: 5 December, 2013

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