National Asbestos Awareness Month launched

National Asbestos Awareness Month has kicked off a launch campaign with a plea to every Australian to make it their business to ‘Get to kNOw Asbestos this NOvember’.

Ambassador Don Burke said, “There is no known safe level of exposure to asbestos fibres, therefore it’s vital that we all learn about the risks of disturbing asbestos, how to identify products and most importantly, how to manage and dispose of asbestos safely.

“The grave concern we share is that without knowing where asbestos might be located in and around homes, and without knowing how to manage it safely, people are playing ‘Renovation Roulette’ and putting their health and the health of families and bystanders at risk if they release asbestos fibres into the air which can be inhaled and cause life-threatening diseases.

“We know that at least 1 in 3 Australian homes contain asbestos in some form or another and with the popularity of renovation programs rising inspiring a boom in home renovations, home owners, renovators, tradies and handymen must make it their business to Get to kNOw Asbestos this NOvember by visiting asbestosawareness.com.au to protect themselves and families from dangerous asbestos fibres,” Burke said.

Peter Dunphy, chair of the Asbestos Education Committee heading the national Asbestos Awareness Month campaign said, “Because Australia was among the highest consumers of asbestos products in the world, asbestos-containing materials are common in homes built or renovated before 1987 with a broad range of products still commonly found in and around brick, weatherboard, fibro and clad homes.

“People would be surprised at where they might find the hidden danger of asbestos. It could be anywhere. Under floor coverings such as carpets, linoleum and vinyl tiles; behind wall and floor tiles; in cement floors, internal and external walls, ceilings and ceiling space (insulation), eaves, garages, roofs; around hot water pipes, fences, extensions to homes, garages, outdoor toilets, backyard and farm sheds, chook sheds and even dog kennels.

“By visiting asbestosawareness.com.au, people will be able to take the 20 Point Safety Check and easily search to identify the sorts of products to look for, the locations of where they might be found and learn how to manage and dispose of asbestos safely,” he said.

With the vision that Tasmanians be free from the risk of exposure to asbestos and asbestos-related diseases, the AFTF promotes a safer, healthier Tasmania through assisting to reduce the number of people exposed to asbestos and reducing the incidence of asbestos-related disease in the Tasmanian community.

Simon Cocker, president of the AFTF and campaigner for asbestos awareness in Tasmania, said, “Renovators risk exposing themselves and families to asbestos fibres if they don’t know where asbestos might be in homes or how to manage it safely, and tradespeople are particularly vulnerable as they can come into contact with asbestos-containing materials on the job every day so they must be doubly aware of where it might be and what to do to prevent releasing fibres that can be inhaled.

“When it comes to asbestos, don’t play Renovation Roulette! Don’t cut it! Don’t drill it! Don’t drop it! Don’t sand it! Don’t saw it! Don’t scrape it! Don’t scrub it! Don’t dismantle it! Don’t tip it! Don’t waterblast it! Don’t demolish it! And whatever you do...  Don’t dump it!” Dunphy said.

Prior to 1987, many homes were constructed from low-cost fibro (bonded asbestos cement sheeting) to meet the growing demand for housing and it was common practice for builders and labourers to bury broken pieces of asbestos materials on building sites. These can now be exposed when digging, gardening or redeveloping properties or land.

Fibro was also commonly used in the 1950s and 1970s when building garages for the new family car, to build Dad’s shed and when adding extensions to existing brick or weatherboard homes such as family rooms, while ‘shacks’ were often built from fibro (asbestos cement sheeting) as low-cost holiday homes.

In rural regions, many farm buildings were constructed from fibro as a cost-effective means of housing equipment and stock, and it was also widely used to construct ‘sleep-out’ additions to farmhouses, workers’ accommodation and community housing throughout much of regional Australia.

If left undisturbed and well maintained, asbestos-containing products generally don’t pose a health risk. However, if these products are disturbed and fibres are released during a renovation, a knock-down-rebuild or the redevelopment of an old fibro home site, this is when health risks can occur.

Professor Nico van Zandwijk, director of the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, said, “There is growing evidence that suggests the current occurrences of asbestos-related diseases is as a result of exposure to asbestos fibres during DIY and renovations with more people, specifically women, diagnosed as a result of inhaling fibres in a non-occupational setting.

There is no cure for mesothelioma, a cancer that can develop between 20–50 years after inhaling asbestos fibres and the average survival time after diagnosis is 10–12 months. Inhaling asbestos fibres can also cause lung cancer, asbestosis and benign pleural disease.