Worksafe, Western Australia’s workplace safety watchdog, has confirmed that it has started to investigate the Maritime Union of Australia’s allegations that workers on Barrow Island have exposure to asbestos.

A meeting in this regard was held with seafarers and waterfront workers in Dampier earlier this week to discuss concerns that workers on the $43 billion Gorgon project have been exposed to fibers of asbestos.

Some of these workers, who were exposed to asbestos after shifting contaminated material from the island to the mainland, have even undergone medical tests to figure out the damage caused due to the exposure.

The tests confirmed that the workers were indeed exposed to asbestos while clearing the deadly material from the Gorgon gas project area on Barrow Island.

The Maritime Union of Australia says that Gorgon joint venture leader, Chevron, did not warn the workers that the drums contained asbestos which eventually spilled during the transfer.

Both Chevron and Worksafe are now conducting the investigations.

A company spokesperson from chevron said that the investigations into the matter needed to cover a number of contractors involved in the collection and remediation process.