Staff at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Brisbane bureau staged a 1-day strike Friday over concerns nine women have contracted breast cancer there.

The cancers were diagnosed over an 11-year period.

Staff voiced environmental concerns and a desire to relocate the facility to management Friday morning, the news agency reported.

They then met with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Union and decided to walk off the job for the day.

ABC news manager Alan Sunderland told the employees the building and equipment in Brisbane are the same as in every other ABC newsroom around the country.

What I can say is that we're talking to all the recognized experts in the field, and getting the advice, Sunderland said.

The corporation also agreed to pay for breast cancer screening for its entire female Brisbane staff.

Source: United Press International