A 1953 photograph from Wittenoom, Australia, shows two four-year-old boys—Philip Noble and Ross Munroe—playing in an asbestos-filled sandpit. At the time, asbestos dangers were not well known, and children often played unaware of the long-term risks. Tragically, both boys later developed mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Noble died at 36 after a football career, while Munroe, who became a school principal, passed away at 38—both stories underscoring the hidden dange

Miles de habitantes de Wittenoom, un pueblo minero al oeste de Australia surgido a finales de 1940, murieron a causa de su exposición al asbesto azul. La mina se cerró en 1966, pero la ciudad sigue contaminada. El gobierno australianos se refirió a Wittenoom como "la mayor tragedia de salud de la historia del país, comparable a las catástrofes de Chernobyl y Bhopal". Ahora el gobierno inició una campaña para evitar que los turistas visiten este pueblo abandonado del noroeste de Australia. | BBC

WITTENOOM VICTIMS REMEMBERED There were sombre scenes at a church service in Perth today, as the 4000 people who died from mesothelioma caused by the asbestos mine in Wittenoom were remembered. And there were calls for a memorial to be built to mark, what the government calls, one of the saddest chapters in WA's history. | 7NEWS Regional WA

ASBESTOS TOWN CLOSING FOR GOOD The old asbestos mining town of Wittenoom in our Pilbara will be closed permanently, after the WA Parliament last night passed a bill that will see it acquire the 14 remaining private properties, which will be demolished. Thousands of West Australians have died from mesothelioma caused by it. | 7NEWS Regional WA

Fortescue Falls and Dales Gorge, Karijini National Park, near Wittenoom Western Australia. | Hoodoo Gurus