Asbestos at Albert Park: the Grand Prix reminder we didn't need

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people descend on Albert Park for the Australian Grand. This year the circuit made headlines for something far less glamorous. Before a single car had crossed the starting line, workers carrying out early redevelopment works at the pit building struck a problem familiar to far too many Australians: asbestos was found throughout the site's soil.

The discovery drove the project $115 million over budget, bringing the total redevelopment bill to $395 million and generating plenty of justified outrage. But beyond the dollars, there's a question that deserves attention: what does this discovery mean for the people who work on sites like this?

A very Australian problem

It's easy to think of asbestos as a problem from another era: something that destroyed Wittenoom, something that ravaged the Latrobe Valley's power stations, something that turned up in post-war public housing and quietly destroyed lives over decades. 

But the discovery in Albert Park is a reminder that Australia's asbestos legacy isn't confined to the twentieth century. Asbestos is buried beneath high-profile public spaces. It's in the walls of buildings that are still standing. It turns up during demolition, renovation and earthworks, often without warning.

Well into the 1980s, Australia had a per-capita asbestos usage rate that was among the world's highest. It wasn’t entirely banned in this country until 2003. That means a vast amount of it is still out there, embedded in the built environment, waiting to be disturbed.

The human cost of a "cost blowout"

Victorian Treasurer Jaclyn Symes responded to the Albert Park discovery by saying "there's not much you can do apart from deal with asbestos when you find it." It’s worth pausing on what "dealing with it" actually involves.

Removing asbestos safely is expensive and requires specialist contractors, rigorous containment, air monitoring, protective equipment and careful disposal. 

Done properly, asbestos removal protects workers and the surrounding community. But done poorly, the consequences can be devastating and often don't show up for 20, 30, or even 40 years.

Asbestos causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and other serious diseases.Almost all of these diseases have long latency periods, meaning the first symptoms may not develop until long after the exposure. People are still being diagnosed today from being exposed to asbestos in the 1970s and 1980s. The lag between exposure and diagnosis is one of the cruellest features of asbestos-related disease. It means the true toll of a discovery like this may not be known for decades.

What happens to workers caught in the middle?

Construction and demolition workers carry a disproportionate share of Australia's asbestos burden. The same is true of tradespeople, maintenance workers, and anyone who has spent time in older buildings, as Kenneth's story and countless others make clear. Many of our clients worked hard their whole lives without any idea they'd been exposed until a diagnosis arrived years later.

If you've worked on a site where asbestos was present, or if you've been diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness, you may have more options than you think. 

Age, health, and the passage of time don't disqualify you from making a claim. Those with asbestos-related diseases should never assume it’s too hard, or too late, to seek some justice for what they’re suffering through.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, our team of expert asbestos and dust disease lawyers is here to help. Call us on 1800 111 222 to find out where you stand.