Asbestos News

The You Yangs Regional Park in Australia will have all of its asbestos pipes removed as part of a $1.2 million Parks Victoria project that will keep the majority of the site closed for nearly two months, the Geelong Advertiser reports.

The park was significantly damaged by flooding due to the heavy rains between November and February, according to the news provider.

"All of the culverts were at capacity, then we had a mass failure across the park and a lot of the culverts were damaged," Ranger-in-Charge Mark Urquhart told the news source. "We then found out that we had asbestos but we didn't know how much."

Park rangers say that the pipes, which were installed during the 1960s, did not pose any health risk until they became damaged by the flooding. The asbestos-contaminated pipes are reportedly located throughout the park including near the main entrance.

The site was officially shut down on February 4, according to the Advertiser.

It is important that damaged asbestos-containing materials are handled with care as exposure to the dangerous mineral can cause a range of deadly diseases including malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.