Asbestos News

Australian telecommunications giant Telstra has agreed to take most of the responsibility for the abatement of asbestos in underground pits and conduits, The Australian reports.

According to the news source, Telstra made a $9 billion deal with government-owned National Broadband Network (NBN), which allowed the company to use NBN's existing infrastructure to lay fiber optic cables. Further deal specifics stated that Telstra take on the financial responsibilities, as well as the physical renovations, involved with cleaning up the aged concrete that was made with asbestos.

Now, on top of its massive construction projects, Tesltra faces the added challenge of dealing with the asbestos, which is known to cause malignant mesothelioma. To make matters worse, Telstra told The Australian that there were "minimal records on the composition of the old pits and conduits in the network."

According to the World Health Organization, asbestos exposure has been linked to lung diseases such as asbestosis, in addition to mesothelioma. Most commonly, asbestos is inhaled after it has been disturbed during renovation work. In order to keep the amount of carcinogenic dust to a minimum, contractors may need to be properly trained prior to construction.