November is National Asbestos Awareness Month

November is National Asbestos Awareness Month

Don't Play Renovation Roulette! - Get to kNOw Asbestos this NOvember!

Visit asbestosawareness.com.au - It's not worth the risk!

An initiative of the Asbestos Education Committee working in partnership with the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute and supported by the Heads of Asbestos Coordination Authorities, Australia's leading National Asbestos Awareness Month Campaign throughout November educates homeowners, renovators, handymen and tradespeople about the dangers of asbestos and how to manage it safely.

Asbestos is not only found in fibro homes. Australia was among one of the largest consumers of asbestos-containing materials in the world with asbestos-containing products still found in 1 in 3 brick, weatherboard, fibro or clad homes built or renovated before 1987.

Asbestos was used in the manufacture of a broad range of products.  It could be anywhere! 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, garages, roofs, around hot water pipes, fences, extensions to homes, garages, outdoor toilets, backyard and farm structures, chook sheds and even dog kennels.

Without knowing where these types of asbestos-containing products might be located or how to manage and dispose of asbestos safely, Australian's play a risky game of -Renovation Roulette' if they disturb asbestos-containing materials and release fibres that can be inhaled which may cause asbestos-related diseases including malignant mesothelioma.

There is no cure for mesothelioma, a cancer that can develop between 20-50 years after inhaling asbestos fibres - the average survival time is just 10-12 months following diagnosis.  Inhaling asbestos fibres can also cause lung cancer, asbestosis and benign pleural disease. Because there is no known safe level of exposure to asbestos fibres, it's extremely important for all Australians to safely manage asbestos-containing materials that might be found in and around their homes.

With the aim of stopping Australian's from playing -Renovation Roulette' and putting their health and the health of families at risk, now more than ever homeowners, renovators, tradies and handymen need to Get to kNOw Asbestos this NOvember.

By visiting asbestosawareness.com.au people can easily search for and 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 ensuring they protect themselves and families from exposure to dangerous asbestos fibres.

Australia's National Asbestos Awareness Month Campaign has been internationally recognised in academic journals (Tom Douglas, Senior Research Fellow University of Oxford) as a world-leading asbestos awareness and education campaign in the prevention of asbestos-related diseases.

https://theconversation.com/why-the-health-threat-from-asbestos-is-not-a-thing-of-the-past-52060