The NBN and shoddy fly by night untrained contractors and ASBESTOS is going to be a bigger failure than the pink bats fiasco
From Tasmania to Townsville there are reports of ASBESTOS issues and shonky removal of this horrible product and putting the contractors and the public at risk. Asbestosbeing left on the side of jobs exposed and at telstra ducts and being broken up in the open air contaminating all around
How many people will this blundering govt kill this time and how much risk are they in their desperation to roll this out at any cost are they putting the public and families.
I hope that posters on here are not near or havent been exposed to any asbestos as the NBN rolls past their place
NBN work exposes families to asbestos risk
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/in-depth/nbn-work-exposes-families-to-asbestos-risk/story-e6frgaif-1226652607700
NBN work undertaken by Telstra contractor contaminates Penrith street with asbestos
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/news/nbn-work-undertaken-by-telstra-contractor-contaminates-penrith-street-with-asbestos/story-fngr8gwi-1226652434224
TWO Penrith families have been forced to evacuate their homes, a staggering 18 days after being exposed to asbestos due to unsafe work on the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Matthew O'Farrell and Troy Lancaster are neighbours on the corner of Hornseywood Ave and Evan St and they said they - along with their families - were exposed to asbestos on May 7.
According to a Penrith Council report, Telstra had contracted communications construction company Service Stream to do remediation work on several pits in Penrith to ensure the area was NBN-ready - including five pits in Hornseywood Ave and nearby Evan St.
This work, conducted by a subcontractor of Service Stream, involved checking and replacing existing Telstra pits in footpaths, with some up to 50 years old and containing asbestos material.
Mr O'Farrell said he arrived home on May 8 to find workers - who were not wearing safety equipment - breaking up asbestos near his front yard. He saw the dust spray all over his house and front lawn.
"My life changed forever that day,'' he said.
``My family and friends were exposed to the deadly material known as asbestos. I became nervous, on edge and unsure of my family's future.
"There was asbestos on the footpath, in my driveway in my neighbour's yard and on my shoes. The same shoes I go to the gym and the ones I walk inside my house where my baby and six-year-old daughter play."
After the incident was reported to WorkCover, the subcontractor responsible was suspended. It is believe the subcontractor had worked on 20 other sites in the Penrith region.
A report from an independent hygienist confirmed three of the pits tested positive for asbestos.
"They lied and back-pedalled on every occasion,'' Mr O'Farrell said.
``The more I looked the more asbestos I found. Then you think, 'Is it in my wife's lungs, my children's lungs and my baby's lungs?'."
Mr Lancaster said he was scared for his own family.
"Who will remediate our children's lungs? No one can. Will this cut their lives short and by how much?" he said.
The two families are now staying at the Chifley Hotel in Penrith, with the asbestos still not removed from their homes - three weeks after contamination.
A Telstra spokesman said the company was committed to cleaning up the site, despite three weeks already passing since contamination.
"We've tried on a number of occasions to have an expert team clean up the sites but to date have not been able to get agreement from the residents to proceed," he said.
"We have an obligation to the wider community to clean up these public sites as quickly as possible. We also have a directive from Comcare and a request from the council to clean up the sites and we want to get crews on-site as soon as possible.
``Service Stream put a detailed remediation plan to residents yesterday and at this stage this will see the public sites cleaned tomorrow and, with the residents' approval, comprehensive cleaning of their properties will take place as well."
More here
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/news/nbn-work-undertaken-by-telstra-contractor-contaminates-penrith-street-with-asbestos/story-fngr8gwi-1226652434224
and here
http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/networking/60052-nbn-asbestos-fears-prompt-telstra-audit
and here
http://www.afr.com/p/technology/telstra_audits_nbn_work_over_asbestos_e2nRKRCkgLaH5dQuWV0A9H
