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Seaford line asbestos being “managed” – but not yet removed

Traces of asbestos on the Seaford passenger line will remain in place for the foreseeable future while the Government negotiates for its safe removal, Budget Estimates has heard.

Jul 29, 2016, updated Jul 29, 2016
The Seaford rail bridge during construction.

The Seaford rail bridge during construction.

And more random inspections and stiffer penalties for the importation of asbestos-tainted products will be debated at a national meeting of Transport and Infrastructure ministers next week.

State minister Stephen Mullighan says he wants the matter on the agenda, given the increasing rate of building products containing asbestos being imported into Australia without the knowledge of the builder or client, highlighted by the discovery of contamination of sub-flooring materials on the Seaford passenger rail line earlier this year.

That was imported by a subcontractor to the project. Safework SA has recommended that the asbestos be removed but can also be left on site for up to three years, if managed appropriately.

Under questioning in estimates today by Liberal David Pisoni, who originally highlighted the matter in the media, Mullighan said the Government’s job now “is to have [contractor] Siemens make good those facilities at no cost to us, and at preferably minimal or no inconvenience to passengers”.

“Those discussions we are having with Siemens on how that reparative work is to be done still continues… Does it need to be removed? Eventually, yes… Does it need to be removed immediately? No.

“As we have with many other buildings both in private and public-sector hands, we are making sure we have the appropriate training, signage, warnings and protocols in place so that that material is not inadvertently disturbed so as to cause the risk of contamination.”

But Mullighan said his “current concern, aside from the issues we have just been canvassing about how this affects South Australia, is what we are doing as a country to minimise the risk of the importation of these products happening in the future”.

“I have submitted a paper to next week’s Transport and Infrastructure Council [highlighting] that this is occurring in a number of states and seems to be an ongoing risk,” he said.

He has demanded the public release of a review commissioned by Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton in February, which he says has been completed but not released.

He says SA will also be calling for increased random testing, with border surveillance targeting imports from countries with a known history of asbestos contamination, and a review of the Customs Act “to ensure it adequately regulates the importation of asbestos”.

“The increasing rate of building products containing asbestos being imported into Australia is a cause for serious concern,” Mullighan told InDaily in a statement.

“It’s no longer good enough to say you’ve got a piece of paper from a manufacturer guaranteeing that there is no asbestos in the product… it now seems it is not worth the paper it’s written on.

“Australia’s asbestos border control measures require strengthening, ensuring that the community is protected from these dangerous goods.”

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