With asbestos-related deaths surpassing the annual road toll, National Asbestos Awareness Week is a life-saving campaign urging homeowners and tradies to stop playing renovation roulette and respect the dangers of the substance before starting renovations or demolition.
Asbestos is thought to be within 1-in-3 Australian homes, so educating Australians on how to identify and manage it safely is important, according to safety advocates. If sealed and in good, stable condition, asbestos-containing materials don’t pose a health risk. However, when disturbed during demolition, renovation or maintenance and microscopic fibres are released, this can lead to life-threatening diseases including malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer, while evidence suggests links to ovarian and laryngeal cancers and increased risk of breast, stomach and colon cancers.
“Every year, asbestos kills around 4,000 Australians – that’s more than double the national road toll,” Clare Collins, Chair of Advocacy Australia and the Asbestos Education Committee. “With no known safe level of exposure to their fibres, the only way to prevent such deaths is to increase awareness of the risks of disturbing the substance during home renovations, demolition or maintenance and providing education tools and information about asbestos locations and how to manage it safely.”
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Adding to its suite of free resources endorsed by experts and government bodies; in 2024, the Asbestos Education Committee have announced its new user-friendly education tool to ensure property owners and tradies identify and remove materials that contain the contaminant safely in accordance with regulations.
“In our new, 20-minute real-life, step-by-step video, Asbestos in Homes: A Guide to Identification, Testing and Removal we discuss asbestos safety, the legalities and the simple steps people should take for asbestos inspections and removal so they know how to protect themselves, their families, tradies and anyone who might risk exposure to asbestos fibres during renovation, demolition or maintenance,” Collins said.
“Because Australia was one of the highest consumers of the material globally, the importance of continuing to increase awareness and providing practical resources that build community knowledge on identifying and managing it safely, cannot be overstated,” said Cherie Barber, Asbestos Awareness Ambassador who lost her grandfather to a disease caused by the material.
“Most Australians don’t know that asbestos was not only used in the construction of fibro homes, but it was also used extensively in the manufacture of more than 3000 building and decorator products that could be lurking in any brick, fibro, weatherboard, clad home or apartment built or renovated before 1990.
“The material could be under floor coverings including carpets, linoleum and vinyl tiles, behind wall and floor tiles, in cement floors, internal and external walls, ceilings and ceiling space (insulation), eaves, roofs, around hot water pipes, fences, home extensions, garages, outdoor toilets, backyard and farm structures, chook sheds and even dog kennels. It was used everywhere.”