Australia’s Asbestos Capital
Wittenoom, once the largest town in the Pilbara during the 1950s, was built to support Australia’s only blue asbestos mine. Operated from the 1930s to 1966, the mine produced crocidolite asbestos—among the most hazardous mineral fibers known.
A Town Built on Poison
The air, soil, and buildings were saturated with asbestos dust. Workers processed tons of fiber with no protection, while tailings paved roads and airstrips. Residents unknowingly lived among deadly contamination.
A Decades-Long Toll
By 2024, more than 2,000 of the roughly 20,000 people who lived or worked in Wittenoom had died from asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma. Authorities confirmed that the health risk extended far beyond the original mining site.
Evacuation and Erasure
Declared a contaminated zone in 2008, Wittenoom was gradually depopulated. By 2022, the last resident was evicted. In 2023, demolition began. Government advisories now strongly warn against entry. At 115,700 acres, Wittenoom remains the largest contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere.
Wittenoom, once a bustling mining town in Western Australia, became infamous for a silent killer.
Built around a blue asbestos mine, it flourished in the 1950s—then vanished. Beneath its dust lay one of the deadliest environmental disasters in the Southern Hemisphere…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/JknGuaRo6s
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) April 20, 2025