Asbestos

The family of a teenager being treated for mesothelioma is among those calling for action to remove old asbestos from homes.

With asbestos lurking in an estimated one-third of Australian homes, campaigners want compulsory registers of the deadly product for home owners in an effort to save the lives of unsuspecting renovators.

Daniella grew up in Lismore in northern NSW, but she has a strong connection to her family’s country at Baryulgil. It’s a complicated connection because Baryulgil was also an asbestos mining town. A history, that’s had a devastating impact on her ancestors and culture. Daniella’s personal story made her a winner of the ABC's Heywire competition. It’s a storytelling and leadership program encouraging young people in regional Australia to share their story.  

A 'ticking time bomb' was unleashed inside this retired school teacher's body when she was exposed to asbestos. Now she's joining the fight to make the removal of the deadly material safe and affordable to all.

A 'ticking time bomb' was unleashed inside this retired school teacher's body when she was exposed to asbestos. Now she's joining the fight to make the removal of the deadly material safe and affordable to all.

In north-eastern New South Wales lies the small town of Baryulgil, where the remnants of an asbestos mine have drilled deep into the core of the community.

Renovating the Reserve Bank's headquarters is increasingly looking like a disastrous episode of home building show Grand Designs. The key difference? The budget for the horror reno is now north of $1 billion.

Expeditioners at Australia's research station on Macquarie Island sometimes have to stay in mouldy, asbestos-riddled accommodation blocks. To improve conditions and enhance scientific capabilities, a major upgrade costing hundreds of millions of dollars is underway.

The house next to Mark Rayner's unit complex had its roof pressure-washed — it sent asbestos dust into the air and now Mark and other affected tenants are living in hotel rooms.

Tenants of a Gold Coast unit block have been indefinitely forced out after a neighbouring house had its asbestos roof pressure washed by a contractor. 

Small pieces of asbestos-contaminated mulch have been popping up in a handful of Melbourne parks. But is there any real cause for alarm?

There are calls for tighter controls on what can be sold as garden mulch, after further asbestos was found in a number of parks in Melbourne's west.

An asbestos removal expert says he is "shocked" asbestos has been found in playground mulch in Victoria, but argues there are "virtually no regulations" around mulch.

More Melbourne parks close after testing confirmed the presence of asbestos, just days after a similar discovery in Spotswood in the city's west.

A Melbourne council has confirmed a substance found in mulch at a playground in Melbourne's west is asbestos. A parent found the material in Spotswood and raised concerns with the council.

WorkSafe ACT confirms a small quantity of mulch contaminated with friable asbestos was found at a residential complex in the Canberra suburb of Denman Prospect.

Mulch contaminated by asbestos has been detected outside south-east Queensland for the first time since rigorous testing across the state began last month.

The changes are the biggest amendment to environment protection laws and will see the doubling of maximum penalties to millions of dollars for top-tier serious offences.

Photographs taken by a man who explored old mine shafts at Wittenoom, where deadly blue asbestos still contaminates the area, have drawn condemnation from authorities.

The recent discovery of bonded asbestos in mulch across Canberra has reminded many locals of the Mr Fluffy saga. But experts say the recently found asbestos poses much less risk than the loose-fill asbestos introduced in the 1960s.