Asbestos News

Approximately 400 Australian construction workers were reportedly exposed to asbestos while they performed work on Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art over the past year, The Australian reports.

Brian Parker, assistant secretary for the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that a significant amount of asbestos had been found at the site of the museum. Workers had reportedly not worn protective gear.

"We had asbestos in the sandstone joints, we had asbestos in the windows, we had asbestos in the lagging of the pipes," Parker explained. "We suspect that there is about 400 workers that possibly could be affected by it."

Parker added that Watpac Construction, the firm contracted for the multi-million dollar renovation project, had documents detailing the potential asbestos issues before starting the work, according to the news source.

Exposure to asbestos can be devastating, as these construction workers may not know for decades if they have contracted asbestosis, lung cancer or malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that attacks the tissues surrounding a majority of the body's internal organs.