On October 1, 2016, New Zealand banned importing asbestos products and materials, joining 57 other countries who had already put such bans in place. New Zealand’s environment minister at the time, Nick Smith, said the ban marked significant progress towards a sought-after worldwide ban on the toxic material.

Asbestos has also been banned in Australia since December 2003, which includes the import and export of asbestos-containing goods. But as it turns out, there’s room for products to fall through the cracks.

Asbestos Discovered in New Ferries

Sydney Ferries operator Transdev ordered ten river class ferries and three emerald class ferries from Birdon, an Australian shipbuilder. Birdon outsourced the construction of these marine vessels to Indonesia, Singapore, and China.

In August 2020, three of the vessels delivered through the Port of Newcastle were identified as containing asbestos. Four ferries docked at Carrington from Indonesia were labelled as off-limits as three contained asbestos in their gaskets.

According to the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), they warned the New South Wales government and Transdev Sydney Ferries about their concerns these vessels would contain asbestos. When it was discovered they did contain asbestos; they believed Transdev should take responsibility.

According to Transdev, the asbestos was in a confined area and did not pose a risk given the chance of airborne contamination was low. However, independent asbestos removal contractors were brought in to remedy the situation.

Not all of the ferries had arrived by that point. Still, it brought to light the idea that building the ferries in Australia instead of overseas would have given customers and the recipients of the ferries full confidence that they met the standards and qualities Australians expect.

Why is Asbestos Still a Problem?

Knowing that asbestos is banned in over 50 countries and causes significant health problems, why is it still a problem? And why, knowing that we’ve banned its importation and exportation and no longer use it, does it continue to be a problem?

Both New Zealand and Australia rely on overseas companies to produce many of our goods. Ferries, for example, may be built more affordably and faster than what we could do ourselves. The problem is, while we’ve taken a stance on asbestos, several other countries haven’t.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that 125 million people are exposed to asbestos in the workplace every year. Over 100,000 workers will also die from a related disease. Several thousand even die from exposure in their everyday environment.

The reality is, several countries are still mining large quantities of asbestos to keep up with the demand for cheap and mass-produced building materials. The human life component doesn’t seem to mean as much as keeping up with building demand in several places.

Asbestos Mining on a Global Scale

How did ferries manage to make their way into Australia, given that they contain asbestos? Because it’s produced on a global scale, not every country shares the same rules and laws surrounding its use.

A 2017 US Geological Survey stated that Russia, Brazil, and China were the top producers of asbestos in 2015 and 2016. By 2017, Brazil had banned its production, use, and distribution.

In 2013, Russia produced over 618,000 tons of asbestos, several hundred thousand more tons than the second-largest producer, Kazakhstan, with 175,235 tons, Brazil with 125,832 tons, China with 52,860 tons, and India with 119,000.

What WHO Aims to Do

Australia’s unfortunate situation with ferries entering the country containing asbestos is not a one-off. Trains brought into New Zealand from China also contained asbestos, and KiwiRail spent around $12 million removing it from the engines. In documents, at least half of the trains that had been given the all-clear still contained asbestos.

Many of our old trains contain asbestos too, which means great care must be taken during the maintenance process to keep workers safe. With this in mind, the World Health Organisation wants to take steps to make sure incidences like these – from ferries to trains – don’t happen in the future.

Their goal is to:

• End the use of all asbestos types worldwide

• Assist in helping countries replace asbestos materials with safer alternatives

• Create registries of people who have been exposed to asbestos

• Improve diagnosis, treatment, and rehab services for those suffering from asbestos-related conditions

Still a Long Way to Go

Australia’s recent trouble with ferries and our past problem with trains goes to show that banning asbestos here is just the beginning. We may not be able to import and export asbestos products legally, but they are still finding a way here.

While the WHO and associated organisations put plans in place to cease asbestos mining, we’ve all got to do our part to limit its impact while changes are made on a grander scale. Rely on licensed, experienced asbestos removalists in your area, and never attempt to remove asbestos without guidance and help.