In 1917 in the north west cape of Australia
A prospector pegged a claim to one of the world’s rarest minerals
This eventually led to the establishment of the town of Wittenoom
From where blue asbestos was exported to all parts of the world
Although the mining company were well aware of the dangers
They did little to protect or warn their workers
From what is becoming one of the world’s largest industrial disasters
They came across the oceans, they came from near and wide
To the dust and heat from the city streets, across the border lines
To build their stocks and fortune, in that deadly blue dust loom
Lethal haze of mining days, the shroud of Wittenoom
Children played in the tailing dumps that littered the landscape
As the desert winds scattered the dust to all corners of the town
Miners worked in conditions with dust up to their knees
As the blue haze above the town was used as a navigational aid for passing aircraft
Trucks dumped loads of tailings to be used for
Lawn top dressings and road construction
As children inhaled the dust from their father’s overalls
They came across the oceans, they came from near and wide
To the dust and heat from the city streets, across the border lines
To build their stocks and fortune, in that deadly blue dust loom
Lethal haze of mining days, the shroud of Wittenoom
They came across the oceans, they came from near and wide
To the dust and heat from the city streets, across the border lines
To build their stocks and fortune, in that deadly blue dust loom
Lethal haze of mining days, the shroud of Wittenoom
A prospector pegged a claim to one of the world’s rarest minerals
This eventually led to the establishment of the town of Wittenoom
From where blue asbestos was exported to all parts of the world
Although the mining company were well aware of the dangers
They did little to protect or warn their workers
From what is becoming one of the world’s largest industrial disasters
They came across the oceans, they came from near and wide
To the dust and heat from the city streets, across the border lines
To build their stocks and fortune, in that deadly blue dust loom
Lethal haze of mining days, the shroud of Wittenoom
Children played in the tailing dumps that littered the landscape
As the desert winds scattered the dust to all corners of the town
Miners worked in conditions with dust up to their knees
As the blue haze above the town was used as a navigational aid for passing aircraft
Trucks dumped loads of tailings to be used for
Lawn top dressings and road construction
As children inhaled the dust from their father’s overalls
They came across the oceans, they came from near and wide
To the dust and heat from the city streets, across the border lines
To build their stocks and fortune, in that deadly blue dust loom
Lethal haze of mining days, the shroud of Wittenoom
They came across the oceans, they came from near and wide
To the dust and heat from the city streets, across the border lines
To build their stocks and fortune, in that deadly blue dust loom
Lethal haze of mining days, the shroud of Wittenoom
Contributed by Dq82 - 2017/10/8 - 21:12
×
![]()
Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
Justice and Pride
In 1935 there was documented evidence of the dangers of asbestos. However companies ignored the evidence and mined it up until the 1980’s. As the song says ‘ it is becoming one of the world’s largest industrial disasters’. Although this song appeared on my 1994 CD Justice And Pride it is as relevant as ever as James Hardie Industries continues to try and avoid its responsibilities to the worker’s it poisoned during the mining, distribution, and use of it’s asbestos products.
Wittenoom, un paese del Pilbara, regione dell’Australia occidentale, nel 1966 divenne una “ghost town”, a nemmeno 20 anni dalla sua fondazione.
E’ che il sottosuolo di Wittenoom era ricchissimo di un minerale chiamato Crocidolite, una pregiata varietà di asbesto, meglio noto come “Amianto azzurro”. Nell’immediato secondo dopoguerra la Colonial Sugar Refining company (CSR), ancora oggi il maggior gruppo industriale australiano, decise di sfruttare quei giacimenti. La Crocidolite australiana venne usata sia in ambito civile (coperture, coibentazioni, persino i filtri di alcune marche di sigarette - davvero!) che militare (per i filtri della maschere antigas - che beffa! - e la coibentazione di carrarmati, aerei e navi).
E con la Crocidolite, estratta per decine di migliaia di tonnellate, arrivò il “benessere”. Wittenoom venne istituito come comune nel 1950 ma già nel 1946 c’era stato il primo caso (il primo caso registrato e studiato) di morte per asbestosi, e già nel 1948 il dottor Eric Saint, un medico del governo, aveva prodotto una relazione in cui metteva ben in guardia dai rischi della Crocidolite, e dell’asbesto in genere, per la salute. Ma solo 10 anni più tardi un altro medico, il dottor Jim McNulty, descrisse in un suo rapporto lo spaventoso livello di contaminazione dei luoghi di lavoro così come di tutto l’ambiente circostante, raccomandando la chiusura degli impianti e la bonifica di tutta la zona.
Nel 1966 la miniera di Crocidolite di Wittenoom fu chiusa, ma non tanto per ottemperare alle raccomandazioni sanitarie, quanto perchè ormai gli affari andavano male e la proprietà aveva accumulato perdite per 2.5 milioni di dollari. Il mercato dell’asbesto non tirava più ed inoltre era dimostrato che la Crocidolite uccideva. Il governo ordinò agli abitanti di Wittenoom di abbandonare la città... L’avrebbero probabilmente fatto anche senza il sollecito delle autorità... La bonifica di Wittenoom iniziò negli anni 70 e proseguì ininterrottamente fino al 1993 (al costo di diversi milioni di dollari), quando alcuni studi affermarono che la situazione ambientale poteva dirsi soddisfacente... Fino al 2006 a Wittenoom viveva pure qualche anima, ma quell’anno un nuovo rapporto dimostrò che la contaminazione non era affatto risolta e raccomandava al governo di allontanare tutti e di radere al suolo tutto.
Nel 2007 Wittenoom è ufficialmente scomparsa dalla carte geografiche.
La Crocidolite è sicuramente ancora lì a fare danni.
Non mi risulta che operai degli impianti estrattivi e abitanti di Wittenoom abbiano mai intentato cause alla CSR ma sono morti a decine e, siccome le fibre d’asbesto producono il loro danno nel medio e lungo periodo, i modelli scientifici dicono che i casi di asbestosi e mesotelioma prodottisi in relazione alla contaminazione di Wittenoom potrebbero toccare i 700 nel 2020.