CSR Limited

CSR Limited is an Australian building-products company, originally the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, that owned and operated the Wittenoom crocidolite (blue asbestos) mine and mill in Western Australia through a subsidiary from the 1940s to 1966. Its mining and milling of blue asbestos exposed thousands of workers and nearby residents. CSR later faced extensive litigation from people who developed mesothelioma and asbestosis after Wittenoom exposure.

Origin

The company began in 1855 as the Colonial Sugar Refining Company in Sydney. It diversified into building materials over the twentieth century and shortened its name to CSR Limited in 1973. Its blue asbestos operations ran through the subsidiary Australian Blue Asbestos at Wittenoom.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For patients, CSR's conduct at Wittenoom is one of the most heavily documented cases of a company continuing hazardous asbestos operations despite mounting knowledge of harm. Records show the operation was extremely dusty and that dust levels far exceeded any safe limit, yet mining and milling continued. If you or a family member worked or lived at Wittenoom, those employment and residency records, together with CSR's own internal documents, can support a claim. CSR products were also sold and exported, so exposure isn't limited to the mine site itself.

Example Sentence

The occupational historian traced the patient's crocidolite exposure to the CSR-operated Wittenoom mill, where he worked as a teenager in the early 1960s.

Related Terms

Crocidolite, Wittenoom, Amphibole, Australian Blue Asbestos, Corporate Knowledge

Notes

• Preserve any employment records, pay slips, or residency records tied to Wittenoom or other CSR sites.
• Ask older family members about building products or job sites connected to CSR materials.
• The Australian Mesothelioma Registry and Wittenoom surveillance programs may hold relevant exposure and diagnostic records.