Late last week a hazmat team was called to remove four tonnes of waste dumped in a driveway in suburban Sydney.
Just over four tonnes of material were dumped in the driveway of the Oatlands home when a mysterious truck pulled up and unloaded the material late on Saturday night. The bags spilt open as they hit the ground exposing the property’s occupants to the potentially deadly contents.
The dumped material is believed to contain asbestos and is currently being tested.
This aforementioned incident is just one of many asbestos dumping events that take place in Sydney, such as the tonnes of asbestos dumped on a street in Sydney’s Chester Hill late last year or the various illegal asbestos dumps committed by Dib Hana.
Why is this happening? Well, one potential answer has to do with the high price of legally and safely disposing of asbestos.
Here at Ausbestos we accept that this is just the cost of doing business in the asbestos removal industry but unfortunately some dodgy individuals try and avoid this cost by illegally disposing of asbestos containing products and asbestos contaminated soil. In the process they put themselves and the community at risk.
In the state of NSW hefty fines apply for the unlawful disposal of asbestos, which can range as much as a $7,500 on the spot fine for individuals and a $15,000 on the spot fine for corporations.
If you come across illegally dumped asbestos in your community or witness illegal asbestos dumping then you should notify the NSW Environmental Protection Agency by calling 131 555. Alternatively, if the dumped asbestos is of immediate harm to human health then you should call 000 and to report it immediately.