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Telstra will investigate the work practices of its contractors after an incident in which bags of asbestos were dumped outside a Ballarat exchange earlier this month.
The large plastics bags, clearly marked as containing asbestos, were left metres from Mt Clear Primary School for a weekend by contractors on the federal government’s national broadband network.
The asbestos was removed from Telstra’s underground pits, which are being upgraded to allow for installation of the NBN’s fibre-optic cable.
It is not the first asbestos-related incident encountered during the rollout of the massive infrastructure project, with other safety problems reported in New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania.
Telstra chief operations officer Brendon Riley said the telco’s main priority when employing contractors was the safety of workers and the community.
An audit will be launched to see if any safety standards were breached by contractors in Ballarat or other areas.
“The safe and proper handling and disposal of asbestos is an absolute and not-negotiable priority, so we have stopped all new remediation work until the audit is completed on Friday,” he said.
“We are conducting this audit to ensure the law and our own strict guidelines are adhered to at all times, and to provide the public with confidence in the safety of this process as it occurs.”
Mr Riley said any problems identified with the asbestos removal process would result in an immediate suspension of work and the relevant authorities being informed.
The Telstra audit will investigate contractor compliance of asbestos management procedures, asbestos awareness and measures taken to protect the public from potential exposure to asbestos.
Informing the public about asbestos works will also be be looked into.
The Ballarat Telstra exchange is located on Whitehorse Road in Mount Clear and is bordered by Mt Clear Primary School.
A staff member working on the project said the asbestos was dumped on May 17 and left for a weekend.
Local residents who spoke with Fairfax Regional Media had no idea they might have been exposed to deadly asbestos dust and expressed outrage at the apparent lapse in safety standards.