HUNDREDS of investment properties across Queensland could be meth time bombs with experts warning clean up costs could run into the thousands. Australia’s meth use has tripled in the past five years, and according to one industry testing group that means the number of clandestine drug labs would also be on the rise. Bryan Goodall, the national sales manager for Octief, environmental and occupational hygienists, which test properties for chemical residue from methamphetamines, said it...
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Australia has more than 150,000 sites that are potentially contaminated with toxic waste, and experts say that only a tiny fraction of them are being cleaned up to remove the risk to human health. Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation, Professor Ravi Naidu, told ABC’s The World Today that most of the sites are in urban areas and pose a serious threat to human and environmental health. “Australia has 160,000...
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Do-it-yourself home renovators are regularly exposing themselves and their children to cancer-causing asbestos, a study of NSW residents has found. Experts say the disturbing findings show that, despite repeated warnings, Australians are still not protecting themselves from asbestos-related diseases. “It’s a horrible disease but it’s completely preventable.” The study of almost 860 people who recently completed a do-it-yourself renovation found more than 61 per cent said they had been exposed to asbestos. More than one...
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In the pretty Sydney suburb of Sylvania, there’s a cute little home for sale for $520,000, it seems well priced. If you turn up at the open-inspection, you’ll probably meet Rodney Spink of Sanders First National Real Estate. Like thousands of agents, Spink’s job is to maximise the positives and minimise the negatives of the homes he’s selling. For instance, the Formosa Street home is in a “great location”. That’s true, it’s right opposite the Bowling...
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