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Help us take action—donate now to support the legal fight to #CleanUpWittenoom and protect future generations.
After 60 years of inaction,
Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation is launching litigation for the remediation of Native Lands.
Wittenoom was once full of life—now it stands as a haunting reminder of lost loved ones and unanswered justice.
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Australia’s Chernobyl is Spreading
It's time to clean it up!
It’s Australia’s largely unknown Chernobyl. The Ngambigunha | Wittenoom area on Banjima’s Native Title lands in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere, more than half the size of Singapore.
Three million tonnes of waste from the blue asbestos mines were dumped here more than 60 years ago, enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to the brim twice over.
The deadly contamination is spreading beyond the exclusion zone and will do so ‘for hundreds of years’ if left unchecked according to a WA Government-commissioned report.
It’s an unacceptable health risk for future generations and all Australians. It’s time to #CleanUpWittenoom.
Blue Death
There isn’t a Banjima family that hasn’t been touched by this.
Aboriginals in Western Australia have the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world. This is because of Wittenoom.
Elders are passing away at a time when they should be passing on knowledge. Young people live with the fear that they will develop an asbestos-related illness which often takes 20-40 years to manifest.
The late Banjima Elder Maitland Parker told his story about his fight to heal Country while battling mesothelioma in the Yurlu | Country documentary because he wanted this sickness to stop with him.
