Asbestos payout bill in millions - Home Article

The Carr Government is liable for millions of dollars in compensation
for workers who contracted asbestos-related diseases on the rail
and electricity networks, according to new figures supplied to
state parliament.

Infrastructure Minister Craig Knowles also has revealed that asbestos
-- which can cause fatal lung disease -- is still present in
31 rail stations across NSW and some train stock.

But he maintains the asbestos does not present a risk to the public
health of rail passengers because it is ``bonded'', not loose fibres.

Moves are under way to eliminate asbestos from the rail network but
it will take until 2007.

The latest Government estimates show the compensation figure for existing
rail claims is almost $4 million -- more than half of which
RailCorp will try to recover from suppliers.

A further 162 claims have been lodged in the past five years against
the three NSW government-owned electricity generators.

They are Eraring Energy, Delta Electricity and Macquarie Generation
-- previously owned by Pacific Power and formerly the Electricity
Commission of NSW.

The total cost of the compensation to former electricity workers is
not yet known but Mr Knowles said the three generators were self-insured
for past asbestos-related compensation payouts.

``Asbestos has largely been removed from power stations and where
it is still in place, has effectively been encapsulated or otherwise
managed in accordance with relevant safety standards,'' Mr Knowles
said in answer to a question taken on notice from National
Party whip Thomas George.

Opposition industrial relations spokesman Chris Hartcher said the
actual cost to the Government would run much higher than current
estimates because it took decades for the lung disease mesothelioma
to develop.

``The employees that were exposed to it at StateRail and what was
the electricity commission number in the thousands,'' Mr Hartcher
said.

RailCorp, formed in January 2004, merged StateRail and the Rail Infrastructure
Corporation.

``The NSW Government has not published any studies as to its potential
liability but it is believed that its potential liability might
be in the billions,'' Mr Hartcher said.

Treasurer of the Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia, Ella Sweeney,
also said the number of claims would eventually be much wider.

``The numbers (of claimants) are going to keep climbing until it's
all removed and disposed of safely,'' she said.

Copyright 2004 / The Australian