Be asbestos ready this summer
This month marks 20 years since Australia banned the use, sale, importation or manufacture of asbestos. Despite this, the material is still present in many homes built before 1990 and poses a big health risk if it’s disturbed.
Asbestos is generally low risk if it’s intact and ‘bonded’ (also known as ‘non-friable’) – that is, in a hardened product such as corrugated roofing or cement sheeting. As long as the asbestos remains sealed and undamaged, you probably don’t need to worry about it.
But when asbestos products fray or break into pieces they release microscopic fragments that can be inhaled and lodge in the lungs. This can lead to asbestos related diseases including asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer – serious illnesses, often fatal, that can take many years to present.
We need to be aware of this year-round, but especially when planning home renovations, something many people do in the summer holidays. And it’s not just major work like knocking down walls or re-tiling the bathroom that can expose you to asbestos fibres. Even drilling a hole can be risky.
People in NSW are still developing asbestos-related illnesses, and many of them are DIY renovators. For the past few years, the EPA has been running the NSW Government’s ‘Be asbestos ready’ campaign, urging DIY renovators and trades to be extra vigilant when doing DIY work as you can’t always tell if something contains asbestos just by looking at it.
Asbestos was banned here 20 years ago, but its danger is still with us.
See our dedicated educational and information hub for Asbestos.
Watch this video from the Mens Shed on asbestos awareness.