Asbestos?......

[garry,l]

A fellow Australian Z club members posted this if anyone can help......

Might be a bit of help wanted lad's!
On the 6th of March the Australian Government passed legislation that any good imported into Australia must have 0% asbestos, this was aimed at the building industry due to all the shite that is imported from China that has an unfeasible amount in it! However, the importation of vehicles has now come under this category!
So the legislation says: if a vehicle contains asbestos you must declare it, you have an option of not declaring it! However, if you do not declare that the vehicle contains asbestos and its tested (at you cost) the vehicle is then destroyed and you get a $180,000 fine! If you declare it the vehicle gets destroyed anyway!
Its not the obvious brake pads, they are targeting gaskets including cylinder heads! The first case in Sydney has come out today when an importer had a bike checked, they stripped the bike, brakes, clutch, harness and took them for testing at his cost. The charges amounted to over $5,000, he said to keep the bike!
If you Google asbestos the World wide standard is >3% on any component, so Australia will quickly come to a halt when truck linings start to fail, this is stupid!
As you know I have a Harris sitting in the shippers in Leeds, can anyone point me in the direction to a company who will give me a certificate that states that the bike is free from asbestos?

[666rog]

Holy shit. That's incredible.

[SAM]

Those early years when I was a brick layer we used so much asbestos sheet!

[Nigel S]

Those early years when I was a brick layer we used so much asbestos sheet!

Explains a lot !!

[Nick64]

I claim no special knowledge about exporting bikes but I do have some asbestos knowledge.

My mate emigrated to NZ and it was too much hassle and money to take his bikes with him so that is why I bought them off him.

I looked at the Australian Government's advice site and they have produced this guidance - its not just the asbestos!
Here is the 8 step plan: https://infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/ ... rview.aspx

There is more info on the asbestos ban here: http://www.border.gov.au/Busi/cargo-sup ... d/asbestos

There is more about testing for asbestos and who can do the test. When the bike is examined and samples are taken the laboratory so as I can see should be UKAS accredited. They will need to report the test in the way the Oz government want the test done.

I reckon that the areas you will have to be tested/examined are:
Head gasket, base gasket other gaskets including exhaust, clutch linings, brake pads, shoes and drums, possibly electrical insulation and fuses. (from the at risk list).

The majority of UKAS accredited asbestos labs may not have the experience of this work as most probably just deal with asbestos in buildings. Check that they understand what they need to do/report.

Alternatively there are freight forwarding companies that specialise in vehicle transport but that will probably increase your cost.

Hope this helps to an extent.

BTW I was told that a few years back on Qantas flights about 20 minutes before they landed the stewardesses would go round offering fresh fruit to all the passengers. "Its free I'll have that" who then put it in their hand luggage. At Border control "Nothing to Declare" a search revealed an attempt to smuggle foreign apples into the country and a $100 fine.

[Eric]

Is that called a set up