Queensland orders audit of all wind turbines after asbestos contamination found
Queensland has ordered an audit of all wind turbines after asbestos was discovered in brake pads at three sites across Australia.
Queensland has ordered an audit of all operational wind turbines after asbestos was found at three sites across the country, with at least a dozen more projects on alert for contamination.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland stopped the access, operation, maintenance and servicing of all wind turbine lifts and hoists until they were inspected for asbestos, which has been identified in the brake pads of workers’ lifts.
Mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s newly opened $1bn Clarke Creek wind farm, between Rockhampton and Mackay, was the latest project to confirm its turbines contained the hazardous material on Monday.
Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the decision was made in the interest of worker and community safety, with companies ultimately responsible for exposure risks.
“Every worker has a right to go to work, and return home, safely,” Mr Bleijie said. “It is incumbent on these companies to ensure workers and regional communities are not at risk of exposure to these hazardous materials.”
Several leading turbine manufacturers that supply to Australia have confirmed the use of asbestos-containing brake pads.
Chinese turbine manufacturer and wind farm developer Goldwind supplied the contaminated turbines for the Cattle Hill wind farm in Tasmania and the Clarke Creek facility, operated by Squadron Energy, a subsidiary of a private investment group of Dr Forrest and former wife Nicola.
At the same time, Danish competitor Vestas quarantined several turbines at Australia’s biggest wind operation, the $4bn Golden Plains wind farm northwest of Geelong.
The Albanese government has resisted calls from the opposition to pause the installation of new turbines until an audit similar to Queensland’s is conducted on a national scale to determine the extent of contamination.
A federal government spokesman said safety regulators were handling the contamination issues when they were being reported: “We are working with state safety regulators, and a rapid response protocol has been initiated to ensure jurisdictions can work efficiently together on compliance and enforcement.”
At least a dozen wind farms supplied by Goldwind are being examined for contamination, including six in WA and three each in NSW and Victoria.
Goldwind Australia maintains “some small brake pads” supplied by a third-party contained asbestos, but refused to say which projects had been affected. It did not confirm how many of the projects had been affected.
Independent industrial hygienists have assessed the work health and safety risk from the asbestos to be very low.
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