A broken petrol bouser stands near a long closed cafe in the former town of Wittenoom, about 1,400 kms (870 miles) north of the West Australian city of Perth May 28, 2008. (Tim Wimborne/Reuters)

WITTENOOM, Australia (Reuters) -
Of the 20,000 people who
once lived in this outback mining town in western Australia, at
least 1,000 are dead of asbestos-related diseases. Just about
everyone else left long ago.

But if Mario Hartmann, an Austrian immigrant who moved to
far western Australia to shoot kangaroos and herd cattle ever
had any intention of leaving too, that changed 10 months ago
when he met the love of his life, Gail Malcom, on what's left
of Wittenoom's main street.

“We couldn't imagine living in a place more peaceful and
beautiful than this,” said Hartmann, 44, smiling at his partner
and gesturing towards the foothills of the magnificent
Hamersley Range.

“Cancer is a throw of the dice. Some people get it and some
people don't,” he said.

In the 18 years Hartmann has lived - some would say
survived - in Wittenoom, current population 8, he's watched
most of his friends and neighbors leave, some sick and all
heeding the government's warning to get out or possibly die
from one or more lung ailments linked to asbestos.

Some moved to Perth 1,500 kms (930 miles) south on the
Indian Ocean, others to nearby settlements and aboriginal camps
that pepper the stark land-locked region known as the Pilbara.

One of the last to leave was an American who for years ran
Doc Holiday's Cafe, Wittenoom's only restaurant.

The asbestos mine on the outskirts of town closed in 1966
as the dangers to humans became clearer but it was too late for
many in the town who worked in the mine or used the plentiful
supplies of asbestos to pave roads and schoolyards.

Asbestos waste from the mine was even employed to help
build the town's airstrip.

From 1950 to the early 1960s, Wittenoom was Australia's
only source of asbestos and the town thrived, attracting
thousands of mine workers and their families with the promise
of high-paying jobs.

Years later, in a failed clean-up attempt, parking lots
were scraped and resheeted, roads resealed and yards covered
with clean fill. Still, the Western Australian government
recommends avoiding Wittenoom. If you must go, it warns on road
maps and Web sites, stay in your car and keep the windows
closed.

Asbestos fibers enter the body through the lungs. Exposure
to asbestos has been shown to cause lung cancer, asbestosis and
mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the protective lining that
covers the body's internal organs, including the lungs and
chest.

A CLEAR HEALTH RISK

Hartmann, a chain smoker, says he shows no symptoms of any
of these. Malcom is the only person to actually move to
Wittenoom in decades, at first taking up residence across the
street from Hartmann in an old Catholic convent and providing
lodging for the odd intrepid tourist drawn by the natural
beauty of the ranges and brave enough to stay in the town for a
night or two.

“I don't think there is any risk as long as you stay clear
of the mine tailings, especially when it's windy,” Malcom said.

Most contamination is in the soil, not in the air. If the
government removed the tailings that would solve a lot of
problems.”

Both the Health Department of Western Australia and the
local Ashburton shire disagree and say they consider airborne
asbestos fibers in the area a clear health risk.

Two years ago, nearly 30 of the then 37 remaining residents
left and the state government said it would no longer recognize
Wittenoom as a town. Electricity was cut off, mail deliveries
stopped and police patrols halted. There is no fire brigade or
doctor in town.

“Since then, we've been totally on our own,” said Hartmann,
who relies on a 50-year-old generator in his backyard for
electricity. The town's six other residents also must find
their own power. Lorraine and Les Thomas next door rely on a
homemade solar power system.

Shopping requires a 140 kilometers (87 miles) drive to the
next town Tom Price on the other side of the range so Hartmann
and Malcom prefer to grow vegetables and hunt for most of their
meals. When one person in the town goes shopping, they do so
for everybody else.

Hartmann says he still shoots kangaroos to feed the family
dog.

He turned down a government offer of A$43,000 ($40,000) for
his home on the condition he and Gail leave Wittenoom.

“I guess you could say I'm retired and Gail and I have a
life here together. Why would we leave,” he said.

Adds Gail: “The cinema is gone, the school's gone, even the
nuns from the convent left. But I came to Wittenoom, population
next to nothing, and I met my man.

“What are the odds of that? I love it here.”

(Editing by Megan Goldin)