Experts and traditional indigenous land owners have expressed concern over the actions of the WA Government, which is proposing investing in roads across the Pilbara so that Hancock Prospecting can transport iron ore out of the region.
According to the ABC, the proposal to upgrade the roads in the area includes 300km of road upgrades. Aaron Rayner, who manages cultural heritage for Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation, which holds native title for the area, said that one element of the project would damage more than 40 significant sites.
“The proposal is to essentially develop a haul road that runs across and right through Eastern Guruma country and will interfere with very important Aboriginal heritage,” Mr Rayner said.
“There are about 45 Aboriginal sites that would be impacted, but there are many unknown and unrecorded Aboriginal heritage sites that will be impacted.”
Experts are also concerned about a section of the proposal which includes an upgrade to the Nanuturra Munjina Road near Wittenoom, the largest asbestos-contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere, and was led by Lang Hancock, who established Hancock Prospecting.
Despite the WA government officially closing Wittenoom in March, the project’s proximity to the site is likely a very high risk for those completing the work on the road infrastructure.
Curtin University respiratory health professor Fraser Brims explained that “we don’t know with asbestos if there is a safe exposure level, so really if exposure can be avoided then it must be avoided to keep workers and indeed anybody safe.”
He noted that due to the intense heat in the Pilbara region, the extensive protective equipment to adequately protect workers would be difficult to enforce.
“Gold standard protection would be a full PPE suit. It’s heavy equipment; it would be very uncomfortable in the heat,” he said.
“Workers, because of the heat, would become uncomfortable. In time the concern would be they’d look to cut corners.”
A Main Roads WA spokesperson said that the project was in the early planning stages, and they were committed to managing any asbestos risk.