Asbestos News

A detention center in the Australian state of South Australia reportedly contains asbestos.

The Inverbrackie detention center, which typically detains asylum seekers, has vinyl tiles that contain asbestos, according to the Australian Associated Press.

A spokesman for federal Immigration Minister Chris Bowen told the news source that no detainees were exposed to the carcinogenic substance. Such exposure can result in a number of serious diseases such as malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. These diseases are believed to kill 107,000 people each year worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

"Comcare, the federal work health and safety regulator, has confirmed that there are no imminent safety concerns for people at the center," the spokesman said. "No detainees have been exposed to asbestos at Inverbrackie and three trade contractors have had medical assessments that returned negative results."

The news source also reported that officials with the opposition government claimed that workers at the facility had been exposed to asbestos in 2010.

"The reality is the federal government rushed this job and workers were exposed because the asbestos register was incomplete," opposition treasury spokesman Iain Evans said.