Asbestos discovered earlier this month in wind turbine parts is likely to be a nationwide problem, but of very low risk to humans, according to multiple industry sources.
News that turbine manufacturer Goldwind found white asbestos in the brake pads of internal lifts used to get up and down turbine towers has sent the wind industry into damage control this week.
But while the extent of the problem, and even whether it’s limited to just the wind industry, is yet to be known, initial testing appears to be showing the risk to humans is low.
Goldwind uncovered the issue on November 10 after concerns were raised that the parts used at the Cattle Hill wind farm in Tasmania, from major Chinese supplier 3S Industry, didn’t look right, and it quickly moved into testing for contamination.
“Independent occupational hygienists have assessed the occupational health risk to be very low,” a Goldwind spokesperson said in a statement. “These small components fit in one hand and are readily replaceable.”
The company is now running a “program of comprehensive checks” and replacement works, and access to the turbines that use 3S Industry parts is now restricted, the company says.
3S Industries has been contacted for comment.
Goldwind is supplying turbines to the 42 megawatt (MW) under-construction St Ives Gold wind project, and is the supplier for three others currently under development, the Kidston, Milpulling, and Bashan projects.
It is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for 10 other operating wind farms in Australia, according to RenewMap data.
Two of the three wind farms owned by BJEI Australia – the 312 MW Moorabool facility and the 111 MW Biala facility – have been confirmed to be affected, both of which use Goldwind turbines.
BJEI Australia’s Karl Schubert says that it doesn’t appear that the same internal lifts or brake pads were installed at the company’s third wind farm, Gullen Range.
Unknown how widespread
Safework New South Wales (NSW) and Worksafe Victoria have confirmed they are investigating the issue, with an expectation that Goldwind is just the tip of the iceberg.
Several sources confirmed to Renew Economy that 3S supplies the brake pads to almost every turbine OEM supplying Australia.
Vestas turbines have been confirmed to be affected, with a brake pad from Golden Plains testing positive and another at a non-Vestas wind farm.
Dust and air quality testing have tested negative for airborne asbestos — the most dangerous form of the chemical — but investigations continue.
The turbine supplier currently has six wind projects in commissioning or construction stages and is the OEM on 44 operating wind farms, according to RenewMap.
“Vestas has taken immediate action to ensure that the limited number of turbines that may have a risk of exposure to asbestos are quarantined, and hoists potentially replaced while further investigations are carried out,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.
“Vestas maintains a zero-tolerance policy on the use of asbestos in our purchase specification, and the supplier has taken responsibility for not adhering to our policy.”
Other turbine manufacturers currently supplying turbines to Australia and yet to confirm whether they use 3S parts are Envision, GE Vernova and Nordex.
Importing products containing asbestos in Australia was banned in 2003.
Australian Workers Union national secretary Paul Farrow said the issue could be solved if more parts were made in Australia.
“We need an urgent overhaul of local content laws,” he said in statement.
“The feedback I get from industry experts is that we could very easily boost local content to 40 per cent. The capability is there, the only thing lacking is the political will to make it happen.”
More ammunition
The news that wind turbines, one of the biggest bêtes noires of anti-renewables groups, could be using a prohibited and, in Australia, widely feared substance has been met with resigned sighs by people in the industry.
The wind sector, with its visible turbines and large footprint is bearing much of the brunt of mis- and disinformation around renewable energy, such as that turbine blades fling PFAS and BPA chemicals across paddocks as they rotate.
Despite the brake pads being contained within lifts inside turbine towers, the idea of turbines adding asbestos sprinkles to existing chemical showers is already being tried out.
Wimmera Mallee Environmental & Agricultural Protection Association president Ross Johns released a Facebook post over the weekend saying he was worried about 200m tall turbines “sprinkling asbestos over everyone’s wheatbix”.
Nationals leader David Littleproud blamed the situation on going down “a path of renewables”, according to comments in The Daily Telegraph.
A Worksafe Tasmania spokesperson pointed out that Australia Border Force are responsible for preventing the importation of asbestos containing materials into Australia.
Farrow’s comment also lent into fearmongering, this time about global supply chains and China in particular.
“If we continue to blindly import all our parts from China, we can expect safety issues like this to keep occurring, putting Australian workers at risk,” he said.
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Rachel Williamson is a science and business journalist, who focuses on climate change-related health and environmental issues.