Aboriginal Group Takes Asbestos Contamination Fight to the UN

Deadly contamination from the mining of blue asbestos at Wittenoom in WA has spread outside a 46,000 hectare management zone, the group says.

Fencing and warning tape seen around playground equipment at a park where asbestos has been found at Hosken Reserve in Coburg North, Melbourne, Australia, on April 5, 2024. AAP Image/Joel Carrett

The tiny, isolated town of Wittenoom in Western Australia has come before the U.N. Human Rights Council, as Aboriginal traditional owners step up their fight to have the state government clear asbestos contamination from the site.

At the foot of a deep gorge 15 hours’ drive northeast of Perth, the Pilbara town is blanketed in the deadliest type of asbestos, crocidolite.