Why was Wittenoom closed?
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Why was Wittenoom closed?
During the 1950s and early 1960s Wittenoom was Australia’s only supplier of blue asbestos. The mine was shut down in 1966 due to unprofitability and growing health concerns from asbestos mining in the area. The former townsite no longer receives government services.
What resources were being mined in Wittenoom?
The town of Wittenoom was situated nearby at the mouth of the gorge. In 1962, at peak production, asbestos was the fourth most valuable mined product, after gold, iron and coal. The legacy of asbestos, however, is not economic; rather illness, health complications and death from inhalation of asbestos fibres.
Does Australia still mine asbestos?
Wittenoom is the largest contaminated area in the southern hemisphere and yet people are still drawn to visit the asbestos-riddled site in Western Australia’s Pilbara.
What was asbestos used for in Wittenoom?
Asbestos tailings were used for decades by local government as infill and construction material in and around Wittenoom: for roads, pipelines, the airstrip, golf course and other infrastructure. In the early 1970s, asbestos tailings were sold to Australian concrete manufacturers for $15 a tonne.
Is Wittenoom Gorge safe?
It may never be safe The WA Government says when Wittenoom closed there were three million tonnes of asbestos tailings left behind in the gorge and surrounding area. “Exposure to a single fibre of these tailings could prove fatal,” a government spokesman says.
Is there asbestos at Karijini?
Yampire Gorge inside the Karijini National Park also still contains asbestos piles, only five kilometres from nearby Kalamina Gorge where major concerts are held in the Pilbara tourist season. It is the largest contaminated area in the southern hemisphere.
Can you still go to Wittenoom?
Famous asbestos mining town now a genuinely dangerous ghost town. Wittenoom was officially removed from the Western Australian maps in 2007 and legislation was introduced to forcibly remove the last three residents in 2015.
Does karijini have asbestos?
