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Asbestos scare strikes hospital
By Clara Pirani
October 6, 2004

PARTS of Sydney's Westmead Hospital have been cordoned off in an asbestos scare after months of dry weather caused pieces of asbestos to rise up from under the site.

Staff working at the hospital, built on a dump site formerly owned by James Hardie Industries, found pieces of asbestos on a pathway close to one of the buildings.

Hardie is under fire after the Jackson inquiry found last month it had failed to sufficiently fund a trust it set up for victims of its products.

The hospital has commissioned an environmental impact study of its entire 10ha site to determine the extent of the asbestos.

A hospital spokesperson said an EIS conducted in 1993 had found asbestos throughout the hospital grounds, but declared it posed no risk because it was about four metres underground.

"We know that there is lots of it underground because this is an old demolition site," said Kevin Gillies, Westmead's deputy director human resources risk management. "Part of the site was formerly owned by James Hardie. The previous EIS couldn't tell us whether the asbestos came from the James Hardie site that was here, or if it came from everything that was ploughed into the ground when Westmead was built, or whether it came from the showground buildings that were also here and were demolished," Mr Gillies said. "It's three or four metres underground and because we've had a drought some of it has worked its way to the surface."

Four weeks ago staff found small pieces of asbestos close to one of the hospital's buildings.

Mr Gillies said the type of asbestos found posed no immediate health risk. "What we're talking about is fibro, which is bonded asbestos, which is fairly low risk.

"The key issue is that it's not friable which means that it's not broken up or airborne so it's very low risk."

He said this was the first time asbestos has been found on the ground surface and stressed there was no asbestos inside the hospital.

"In its current state buried under the ground, that's the best place for it."

A Health Services Union spokesperson said it was holding discussions with the hospital about how to remove the asbestos.

"We've raised it with management and we know they've fenced off the area and told people to be aware.

According to WorkCover guidelines, only licensed contractors can remove bonded asbestos.

Mr Gillies said he had contacted several companies in the past fortnight to remove the asbestos and believes the matter will be dealt with within the week.

The Australian

Australian Unions Seek Basic Agreement With Hardie in Two Weeks

Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- James Hardie Industries NV, Australia's fourth-biggest building materials maker, could reach a basic agreement with labor unions within two weeks to settle a potential A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion.) claim from asbestos victims, a union official said.

Unions and representatives of victims met the Sydney-based company to discuss funding a new plan after an enquiry by the New South Wales state government last month found James Hardie misled victims by claiming an original A$293 million fund was adequate.

Chief Executive Peter Macdonald and Chief Financial Officer Peter Shafron stood aside while regulators investigate whether to lay charges over allegations they misled investors about the cost of compensation. The company offered to fund all asbestos claims if the state government changes laws to reduce legal costs.

``If the company is genuine, I would hope we can get to a skeleton plan, a heads of agreement for example, in a couple of weeks,'' Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary Greg Combet told Nine Network's Sunday Business program. ``Putting the flesh on those bones is going to take longer.''

Australian building unions and some city councils in New South Wales, the country's biggest state, are boycotting James Hardie products, which include home building materials such as cladding, fencing, eaves and wall panels and commercial products such as facade paneling, tunnel lining, flooring and walls.

``It's good to get around the table and start talking about solutions,'' said Combet. ``The company has recognized it will have to contribute financially.''

Still, it won't be an easy compromise between the union's ambition to ensure all potential claims can be met and the company's need to sustain profits in the long term, he said.

Provable Claim

``I don't want to leave anyone without compensation if they have a provable claim,'' said Combet. ``The company is looking for a finite outcome.''

The cost to the company may be A$70 million a year, the Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information. James Hardie's full-year profit was $129.6 million in the year ended March 31.

Combet said there were some signs of a common solution emerging. He declined to comment further. He wasn't immediately available for further comment.

James Hardie started making products containing asbestos in the 1920s. It started to phase out blue asbestos in 1968, and all products were asbestos-free by 1986. Asbestos, a fibrous mineral, has been linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer affecting cells in the chest or abdomen.

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