Chinese car recall due to asbestos, ABC News

[areyonga]

Chinese cars recalled over asbestos concerns

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) is calling for an investigation into how thousands of cars containing asbestos came to be imported into the country.

Ateco Automotive has recalled almost 25,000 Great Wall and Chery Chinese cars after asbestos was found in the engine and exhaust gaskets.

Ateco Automotive is asking owners to return the cars to their dealership.

It says the asbestos is bound into gaskets in the engine and exhaust system and does not present any risk to consumers during use of the vehicle.

However, consumers should not perform do-it-yourself maintenance that might disturb these gaskets.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is monitoring the recall and says the Chery J-1 model and newly imported stock of both brands are not affected by the recall.

AMWU national secretary Paul Bastian says it is unacceptable these vehicles were allowed into Australia and the manufacturer should be prosecuted.

"What is the Government and customs going to do to ensure this doesn't happen again?" he said.

"At the very least there needs to be prosecution of those who are found to import products or components containing asbestos in breach of our regulations."

Mr Bastian says the mechanics now removing the asbestos must be properly protected.

"It is unacceptable that we have a situation here where the quality control is so poor that we have so many vehicles now containing asbestos that now have to be recalled and the asbestos removed," he said.

"Now we want to make sure that all the asbestos components are removed.

"It will not be good enough to have some remain in situ."

[Bird]

GWYPF.

[Hairs]

GWYPF.

X2

[flanders]

X2

x3!!

[Bird]

And this is the repair solution


Almost 24,000 budget-priced Chinese cars have been recalled over asbestos fears, but instead of being fixed immediately, they will have warning stickers attached.
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/asbestos-parts-in-recalled-cars-wont-be-replaced-20120815-247jv.html

[bobnrob]

GWYPF.

[LJs GU]

Please, allow me Lost...
Get What You pay For.
LJ

[dazzler]

Always negative you lot.....

Look at the positive side.  The exhausts wont burn when they catch on fire 

[GS]

Got to love self regulation.

And we continue to kill Australian industry with illegal and substandard Chinese product. How can we compete?

This is disappointing not just on the importers but on the regulators. Thanks for the sticker solution (wtf).

And we continue to put our trust in companies that put melamine in baby formula and asbestos in new cars ............ I fear we will wake up when it is too late ........

[Pipeliner]

During my life so far I have

• Sawn corrugated asbestos cement roof sheets
• Used loose asbestos lagging
• Dismantled and put back many asbestos exhaust gaskets
• Drilled holes in asbestos cement wall panels

and surprisingly I'm still here!

I'm not trying to say that asbestos can't be dangerous, but I do think we have become paranoid about the extent of the danger.  Handling a gasket containing compressed asbestos in an inert binder is not going to result in a painful death.  Sure, the Chinese should not have used asbestos products in vehicles being exported to Australia, but don't let's make this out to be far worse than it actually is.

[Mallory Black]

Hi Pipeliner
I too have handled lots of asbestos. I was also an apprentice at a Holden dealer in the '70's and at that place everyone just blew out customer's brakes, clutches etc with compressed air and I also lived in an unpainted fibro house as a kid so I would have been as high risk to exposure as most. Amazingly 30+ years on I'm still here too!

Trouble is not all people are lucky to have our physiology or immune system or plain dumb luck.

Yes asbestos IS safe IF handled appropriately, however it's not a perfect world and people basically need to be protected from their own ignorance on this stuff

The issue with asbestos in cars, is when whatever it's packaged in gets old the asbestos fibres start to get loose, as far as exhaust gaskets go that aint long due to being subject to heat/cold/chemical reactions with exhaust gases.
People most at risk are auto repairers and recyclers, most of them don't earn a motza at what they do so why should they have more hazards thrown on them?

Asbestos poisioning (Mesothelioma) has no cure.
It is a barstard of a way to die.
The lady we bought our current house from was not lucky, she passed away from it in 2008 while her husband, kids and doctors watched helplessly

I like Ateco, remember they did not make these cars but the executive chairman Neville Chrichton needs to put more effort into addressing the issues with the manufacturer of the cars his company is importing.
Someone, somewhere in his business has stuffed up on their due diligence on products they are bringing to our shores. Mr Crichton should know about cancer, he is a survivor.

And ACCC should be hauled over the coals for their total softc*ck approach to a material that has been banned for years, decades for obvious good reason.

[schmik]

During my life so far I have

• Sawn corrugated asbestos cement roof sheets
• Used loose asbestos lagging
• Dismantled and put back many asbestos exhaust gaskets
• Drilled holes in asbestos cement wall panels

and surprisingly I'm still here!

I'm not trying to say that asbestos can't be dangerous, but I do think we have become paranoid about the extent of the danger.  Handling a gasket containing compressed asbestos in an inert binder is not going to result in a painful death.  Sure, the Chinese should not have used asbestos products in vehicles being exported to Australia, but don't let's make this out to be far worse than it actually is.

I don't think that the outrage is about the actual health impacts of asbestos.   
I think it is about the fact that Aussie companies MUST abide by aussie law. This drives the price of manufacture UP.  Somehow Chinese companies can do what they like to make things as cheap as possible and our govt just goes... ummm duh ... OK!

[Mace]

I like Ateco, remember they did not make these cars but the executive chairman Neville Chrichton needs to put more effort into addressing the issues with the manufacturer of the cars his company is importing.
Someone, somewhere in his business has stuffed up on their due diligence on products they are bringing to our shores.

Apparently Ateco raised the issue with its suppliers back in 08 or 09, and were informed then that there was no asbestos content!  They seem to have been doing the right thing, notified the ACCC as soon as they became aware of the situation.

If they were a $2 toy they would be recalled and off the market.  Bigger implications and issues with a $20k truck tho.

[Mallory Black]

NO probs mace, that's good to know

[freewheeling]

In NZ, Great Wall are not even having the recall, or put stickers on the vehicles. The reason - there is no NZ regulation that says they have to.

[shanegtr]

Not suprised myself. One of the previous places I worked at had asbestos gaskets in some of the equipment that came from india. All the indian workers could say was "we dont use asbestos in india". Well, obviously you do Its just what you get when you build stuff in an enviroment that has lower regulations than Australia.