24 / 116
2 4
E L E CT R I C AL CONNE CT I ON
AUTUMN 2 01 5
COVER STORY
Breathe easy about asbestos
“T
here is no safe level of
exposure to asbestos fibres,”
Asbestos Education Committee
chairman Peter Dunphy explains.
“With at least one in three Australian
homes containing asbestos, many home
owners, renovators, tradies and handymen
are putting their health and the health
of their families at risk when doing home
renovations, maintenance and demolition
if they release dangerous asbestos dust
and fibres that can be inhaled and lead
to asbestos-related diseases including
mesothelioma.”
The scary thing is, despite all the warnings
there are members of the electrical industry
who don’t know the signs of asbestos, or the
dangers of exposure.
Mesothelioma is a cancer that mostly
affects the lining of the lungs and develops
between 20 and 50 years after inhaling
asbestos fibres. There is no cure and the
average survival time after diagnosis is 10-12
months. Inhaling asbestos fibres may also
cause other diseases such as lung cancer,
asbestosis and benign pleural disease.
MESOTHELIOMA
Since 2003, approximately 600
Australians have been diagnosed with
malignant mesothelioma each year and
experts have estimated that there were at
least another 1,350 Australians with lung
cancer caused by asbestos.
It is estimated that these figures will
continue to rise in the coming decades.
“We know that Australia has one of the
highest rates of asbestos-related diseases
in the world because Australia was among
the highest consumers of asbestos products
until a complete ban of asbestos came into
force in Australia in 2003,” Peter says.
“However, there is still a high volume
of asbestos-containing building products
used prior to 1987 that remain hidden
dangers in homes and buildings such as
garages and farm structures so it’s critical
that all Australians become asbestos aware.
“Many Australians wrongly believe that
only fibro homes contain asbestos, with
asbestos products still commonly found in
and around brick, weatherboard, clad and
fibro homes built or renovated before 1987
.
OTHER DISEASES
Malignant mesothelioma is the
most common of the asbestos-related
diseases monitored in Australia. This
is because there is a strong causal
association between asbestos exposure
and the disease.
A total of 11,667 people were newly
diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma
in Australia between 1982 and 2009, with
men making up 85% of all cases.
That said, exposure to asbestos can lead
to a number of other diseases:
>
Pleural Disease
This is inflammation of the outer lining
of the lung – the pleura (where asbestos
fibres are deposited). The pleura stiffens
and thickens widely (diffuse thickening)
or in patches (plaques), and can fill
with fluid.
>
Asbestosis
This is scarring of the lungs by inhalation
of large quantities of asbestos fibres:
the lung becomes inflamed and scarred
(stiff) making breathing progressively
difficult. Symptoms include tightness
in the chest, dry cough, and in the later
stages, a bluish tinge to the skin caused
Exposure to asbestos is an
ongoing concern, but there
are some younger members
of the industry who have no
idea what to look out for.
Paul Skelton
reports
Fibro homes... despite all the warnings there are members of the electrical industry
who don’t know the signs of asbestos, or the dangers of exposure.