NSW to Fund Asbestos Remediation at Woodsreef Mine

(January 26, 2011) Report stated Wednesday that the New South Wales government will fund the asbestos remediation work at the Woodsreef mine.

The federal administration pledged $6.3 million to get rid of the silos, demolish the building and establish air monitoring. The guarantee came three months after the state?s Ombudsman released a contemptuous report underscoring the threat the site posed to the nearby township of Barraba.

According to the report, the asbestos mine outlined the dangers of 75-meter tall silo towers of asbestos tailings, open cut pits filled with h2o and eight-story infrastructures still full of asbestos. Previous reports said that at one time in the past asbestos was mined extensively in Australia. However, asbestos mining was later halted in the country in 1983.

Steve Whan, minister of Primary Industries, said in an interview that despite the warning signage at the gates of the mine, individuals were still accessing the site and tampering with remains of asbestos in the area. With the help of the fund, all access will be banned. Residents near the place said they were pleased that the government has finally done something to remove the mine after thirty years of being abandoned.

However, they believe that the decision has something to do with the upcoming election. Ahead of the state?s decision, the Opposition has already promised to spend $5.5 million on the site if it wins the election. Independent Peter Draper, a local MP for Tamworth, said that both political parties will need more money to be committed to the project which the people of Barraba most certainly deserve.