ASBESTOS WARNING: TRAVELLERS URGED TO AVOID CLOSED WA MINING TOWN

Liam Bartlett chats with our CEO Melita Markey about the dangers of visiting Wittenoom - the site of the worst industrial disaster in the southern hemisphere.

West Australian travellers are being warned not to travel to the closed mining town of Wittenoom, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

More than 2000 workers and residents from Wittenoom, where blue asbestos was once mined, have died.

Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia CEO Melita Markey said an alarming amount of people are still visiting Wittenoom every day.

“It’s seen as an old ghost town, and people are unaware of the dangers,” she said.

“Don’t become a Wittenoom statistic, we are still dealing with deaths on a weekly basis because of the legacy of Wittenoom.”

The Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia have started a petition for a permanent memorial to the Wittenoom tragedy. 

“Wittenoom is the worst industrial tragedy or disaster in Australian history and we don’t have a memorial to it, thousands of people have died.”

Huge thanks to 6PR Mornings with Liam Bartlett for their support of our Wittenoom community education campaign! We need as many voices as possible to help spread the word.