USG Boral workers stood down over asbestos scare

Workers at USG Boral’s Pinkenba factory have been stood down for almost two weeks since the Asbestos scare that shut down the massive Queen’s Wharf development in Brisbane’s CBD.

An asbestos contamination scare that shut down Queensland’s biggest construction project this month has spread to building products giant USG Boral’s Brisbane plant, with workers stood down for two weeks.

Workers walked off the $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf development site in Brisbane on October 12 after USG Boral sent out a safety alert about fire-retardant plaster board made from Chinese-sourced vermiculite that was found to contain traces of asbestos.

Workers returned to the Queen's Wharf site after a major asbestos scare earlier this month. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Peak building union the CFMEU has revealed that workers at USG Boral’s Pinkenba factory have been stood down for almost two weeks since the scare.

The union said ‘confirmed contamination’ had been detected in multiple batches of vermiculite, while the deadly tremolite form of asbestos was found in some products.

The plant remained closed while decontamination continued.

“There is zero excuse for this happening in 2021,” CFMEU secretary Michael Ravbar said.

“This is a damning indictment of both USG Boral’s deficient control and testing measures and

Australian Border Force - the bloated bureaucratic monument to Peter Dutton’s delusions of

grandeur allegedly responsible for keeping toxic substances like this out of Australia.

“These building products are in thousands of homes, businesses and schools and hospitals

around Australia, and USG Boral’s and ABF’s slapdash approach now risks a public health disaster of a scale not seen since the days of the James Hardie scandal.”

Electrical Trades Union secretary Peter Ong said asbestos had been totally banned in Australia for almost 20 years.

The ETU's Peter Ong. Picture: Liam Kidston

“We have also long known that it is commonly associated with vermiculite products,” he said.

“We also know that China’s lax certification standards allow product to be labelled ‘asbestos free’ even if it contains up to five per cent asbestos.

“We also know ABF tests only a tiny fraction of potentially hazardous imports of building

products. Yet still USG Boral has persisted in importing this deadly material from a country with

known risks rather than sourcing it from quality suppliers.”

Mr Ravbar said USG Boral’s testing and containment measures at Pinkenba – and employee training around asbestos management – were ‘deficient bordering on the grossly negligent’.

“There is simply no ‘safe’ level of asbestos, which killed 4000 Australians last year alone,” he said.

“USG Boral and ABF must come clean about the extent of the contamination risk, and

immediately detail what testing and remediation measures will be undertaken.

“This is the public health equivalent of a ticking bomb, and it needs to be defused.”

USG Boral’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Tony Charnock, confirmed that its Pinkenba manufacturing site has been temporarily closed in order to remove Chinese-sourced vermiculite and conduct a deep clean of the facility.

“Tests were carried out on stocks of vermiculite at our three manufacturing sites - Pinkenba, Port Melbourne and Camellia, in Sydney - after low levels of asbestos were detected in certain supplies at Camellia,” he said.

An aerial image taken from a commercial airliner shows the USG Boral Distribution Plant in inner-western Sydney suburb of Camellia. AAP Image/Sam Mooy

“Initial tests on samples of vermiculite from Pinkenba reported no evidence of asbestos. However, subsequent testing reported trace-level detections in some of the vermiculite.

“USG Boral immediately closed the Pinkenba site so the vermiculite could be safely removed, and the facility thoroughly cleaned by accredited experts.

“That work is expected to commence within the next 24 hours and is being overseen by the relevant regulators.

Mr Charnock said USG Boral had acted ‘promptly and responsibly in ensuring the safety of our employees and our customers and we reject any suggestion to the contrary’.

“Employees at Pinkenba will continue to be paid while the specialists engaged by USG Boral complete the cleaning and removal work, a process we expect could take up to two weeks,” he said.

“Our employees and customers have been kept fully informed of the work.

“USG Boral will no longer use Chinese-sourced vermiculite in its products, and we are in the process of securing new sources of the raw material.

“Both USG Boral and many of our customers have carried out numerous tests on our fire-resistant plasterboard and can report with confidence that they are safe for use.”