Tourists flock to ‘Australia’s Chernobyl’ despite health risks
It’s the most contaminated site in the southern hemisphere and has been wiped from the maps, yet tourists continue to flock to this Aussie town.
What was once a thriving mining community nestled in a small town in Western Australia now lays almost abandoned, surrounded by daunting signs warning people to stay out.
Wittenoom is no longer printed on any official maps, and all road signs that used to bear its name have long been removed.
It is regarded as the most contaminated site in the southern hemisphere and has previously been labelled “Australia’s Chernobyl”.
The town was originally built to support the mining of blue asbestos, and during the 1950s it was Pilbara’s largest town and Australia’s only supplier of asbestos until the early 1960s.
Read more on this story at: https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/health-safety/tourists-flock-to-australias-chernobyl-despite-health-risks/news-story/7d78d1594c1cadb10e44d6beb77d5a61