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Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

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Anita Corr says her family has been devastated by the death of her dad Noel "Chip" Murray.  (ABC Esperance: Emily Smith)

Anita Corr scans the brilliant blue horizon and thinks of her dad.

They once spent long summers in these waters, surfing and diving.

"He was very interactive, very hands on," she says, brushing a tear from her face.

"He was the best."

Noel "Chip" Murray spent his life in Esperance, 700 kilometres south-east of Perth, where he owned a transport company and a lime pit.

He had a big laugh, a reliable handshake and, usually, excellent health.

"He'd never even taken a Panadol really," Ms Corr said.

So when he started taking 16 tablets a day to cope with agonising shoulder pain, she knew something was terribly wrong.

A heartbreaking diagnosis in 2022 followed — mesothelioma, an incurable form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure.

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

Mr Murray was a popular Esperance character.  (Supplied: Anita Corr)

Asbestos was commonly used in the building and transport industries, until it was found to cause a range of fatal illnesses.

"The cruellest bit is that you're dealing with someone who didn't want to die," Ms Corr said.

"And there was nothing we could do as a family. Except be there and help him."

Mr Murray passed away on September 5.

He is among the 4,000 Australians who die of asbestos-related disease every year.

Although the material was banned in 2003, about 6.4 million tonnes remains in the built environment.

Many believe state and territory governments should be much more proactive about cleaning it up.

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

Ms Corr misses her dad. (ABC Esperance: Emily Smith)

Public health fears

The wide streets of Norseman, a mining town halfway between Esperance and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia's Goldfields, are almost always quiet.

Norseman has lost almost half its population in the past 20 years and many of its homes have been left empty following former mining booms.

The home that Dundas Shire President Laurene Bonza stands beside, on a breezy October day, has burned down.

It is the fifth property that's been destroyed in recent years.

She fears they all pose a major public health risk.

"There is a great concern for kids going in and playing in it," she says, as two small children pass on a scooter.

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

Laurene Bonza says other levels of government need to prioritise asbestos clean-up. (ABC Esperance: Emily Smith)

"They don't seem to have any fear of structural problems.

"And also, there is asbestos in it." 

Fire can damage asbestos and make it "friable", which is crumbly or powder-like, making it easier for fibres to be inhaled.

Jenette Creaney, scientific director of the National Centre of Asbestos Related Diseases, said the risk of developing an asbestos-related disease usually increased with exposure. 

While she guessed the derelict buildings presented fewer opportunities for exposure than other circumstances, like undertaking home renovations on asbestos materials, she said the situation "was a concern". 

"While the risk is low, it's not negligible," she said.

Professor Creaney said much of the asbestos in Australia's built environment was reaching the end of its life span, as it had been installed so long ago, which meant it was more likely to degrade and release deadly fibres. 

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

Norseman residents are concerned the building may contain asbestos.  (ABC Esperance: Emily Smith)

Cleaning up friable asbestos is a massive job, costing anywhere between $30,000 and $130,000 depending on the complexity of the removal.

Cr Bonza said property owners, who were responsible for asbestos removal on their land, were often uninsured or uncontactable.

An Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency spokesperson said local government would often then assume responsibility.

But with few ratepayers, Cr Bonza said Dundas Shire did not have the money to do so.

"There's no funding to assist places like us where people have abandoned properties," she said.

"How do we justify it? What is the community going to miss out on to try and do that?"

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

Mitch Fragar says asbestos removal is expensive.  (ABC Goldfields: Katrina Tap)

Master Builders Association Goldfields-Esperance chairman Mitch Fragar suggests the WA government should establish a fund to assist cash-strapped local governments with asbestos removal.

A government spokesperson said an Across Agency Asbestos Group subcommittee was considering the issue.

Cr Bonza said the next challenge was finding a licensed contractor willing to take on the work.

There are just 17 contractors licensed to remove friable asbestos across the state.

Only one has an office outside Perth and it's in Port Hedland, at the opposite end of the state from Norseman.

"There are very, very few that are willing to come out here to do this work," Mr Fragar said.

A Kalgoorlie business recently received $125,000 from the state government to work towards friable-asbestos removal licensing, while the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency is working to boost workforce capacity.

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

The Dundas Shire Council says it needs support to clean up properties.  (ABC Esperance: Emily Smith)

But Cr Bonza expected the town's asbestos problems to persist for some time yet.

"It's a bit of a compounding circle of disaster," she said.

Incentive scheme gets results

On the other side of the country, another small town has made headway on the issue.

In Moree, 630km north-west of Sydney, 125 burnt and derelict buildings were identified across the shire over the past four years.

About 80 to 90 per cent contained asbestos. 

Moree Plains Shire Council spokesman James Maxwell said youth crime, arson, illicit drug use, homelessness and squatting were all contributing factors.

"The more of these properties there are within our communities, the more acceptable it becomes for property owners to leave them in that state," he said.

With the cost of clean-up often exceeding the land value, many owners are reluctant to pay for the work.

So this year, the council offered incentives: $10,000 towards waste fees for property owners who cleaned up asbestos with qualified contractors.

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

Most of the burnt and derelict houses in Moree contain asbestos.  (Supplied: Merri-May Gill)

"We've been very successful so far," Mr Maxwell said.

He said 30 property owners had taken advantage of the scheme since February, and another 12 were set to do so before the end of January.

The program has recently been recognised for its success, receiving an Excellence in the Environment Award through Local Government NSW.

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

The strategy has been recognised for its success.  (Supplied: Merri-May Gill)

But Mr Maxwell said the financial risks involved meant it wasn't a solution for every community.

“When council investigates these properties and identifies a risk, we then take on a duty of care for the management of those properties,” he said.

"So we're putting council in a precarious position."

He said that deterred many smaller rural councils from getting involved. 

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

James Maxwell has been leading a program to clean up asbestos in Moree. (Supplied: Merri-May Gill)

But he also believed the cost should not fall entirely on ratepayers.

He was disappointed the federal government's recent Asbestos Strategic National Plan had not paved a way for other levels of government to chip in.

"If we're going to the effort as a nation of developing a strategic plan then it would be nice to see some targeted grants come along with that," he said.

"It is disappointing when you consider how the road toll, for example, is managed and supported, that asbestos doesn't quite get the same level of attention."

Asbestos removal stalls as uninsured home owners baulk at clean-up cost

The death of Ms Corr's dad has devastated her family. (ABC Esperance: Emily Smith)

Back on Western Australia's south coast, Anita Corr has a similar message.

"Clean it up," she said.

"It needs to be a priority."

She said her family believed Mr Murray was exposed to asbestos during the course of his work, and while undertaking domestic renovations. 

She wanted to spare other families the heartache.

"It's devastated our family. And it's just devastated Dad's friends," she said.

"I don't want other people to go through what we've been through."

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