Asbestos fears for residents near dump
FIRST ON 7: People in a town north of Adelaide fear deadly asbestos has been spread over a major highway by trucks heading to a nearby dump.
Residents of Lower Light are concerned for their own health and believe thousands of motorists driving along Port Wakefield Rd each day could also be at risk.
More than a decade ago, the Lawrence family erected sculptures on their property to protest against a dump being approved nearby.
They lost the fight, but now believe asbestos sheeting has blown out of dump trucks in front of their house.
“There have been about two-foot square pieces, but unfortunately the traffic has run over a lot of it, so now it has become dust on the roadside, which is even worse, so now we’re breathing it in and so are all the motorists passing by,” Christine Lawrence told 7News.
The broken pieces are scattered over a couple of kilometers of Port Wakefield Rd.
A warning sign and chemical protective suits have also been found.
“Before I retired I was in the building industry, so I’ve seen asbestos and I’m pretty sure it is asbestos,” Kevin Lawrence said.
The Mallala Council has alerted the Environmental Protection Authority.
“I would like to see the EPA come down here in the correct protective suiting and clean up the whole area,” councilor Terry Keen said.
The dump’s operator, Integrated Waste Services, said it will only respond to official complaints made to the EPA and at this stage it hasn’t received one.
It turns out it is the Transport Department’s responsibility – and it is sending crews to clean up the mess.
