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| 1940 - Asbestos Workers |
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The Wittenoom Township
is a small town located at the mouth of the Wittenoom Gorge in Western
Australia.
The town was established in 1947 to house the
asbestos mine workers and soon developed with good shopping facilities,
hotel, bank, hospital, cinemas, racetrack and supported a population
of 1,500. At its peak Wittenoom was the largest town in the north-west
of Western Australia.
The project involved:
- The demolition of 220 asbestos contaminated buildings; including
a hotel, bank, hospital, cinemas, racetrack and residential
housing. The demolition took place whilst the town remained
occupied with approximately 20 residents and public facilities.
- The removal and stabilisation of 60,000 m³ of debris
and soil grossly contaminated with crocidolite asbestos mine
tailings and raw asbestos fibres.
- The excavation and capping of a purpose built and engineered
landfill constructed 10km from the town centre.
- All personnel involved with the project were equipped with
full protective clothing and respirators for the duration of
the project.
- Specially designed earthmoving equipment and vehicle air
conditioning systems were manufactured to protect operators
from asbestos exposure.
- Special demolition techniques were utilised for the township
demolition to minimise dust separation.
- Air sampling was carried out for the duration of the project
and McMahon Services completed this enormous task within the
safety standards required by Australian and Western Australian
Government statutory regulations.
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