Asbestos News

Work on the $6 million Barangaroo development in New South Wales, Australia, has been halted for a second time after another discovery of asbestos at the Sydney foreshore site, The Australian reports.

According to the news source, Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) assistant secretary Bob Kera said that approximately 30 or 40 workers stopped excavating the site when asbestos was found at the project's southern end.

"A find of asbestos on a section of the Barangaroo South site today is being assessed by an occupational hygienist and exclusion areas have been created where the material was found," Andrew Wilson, managing director of prospective tenant Lend Lease's Barangaroo South, told the news source. "Except for these exclusion areas, the majority of the site continues to operate."

The latest setback for the project comes after approximately 150 workers left the site in April after the CFMEU deemed the area contaminated by toxic chemicals such as lead and asbestos, the news provider said.

Taking caution when it comes to handling asbestos is crucial, as exposure to the carcinogenic substance has been proven to cause lung cancer, asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer.