Thread: ACTU calls for asbestos audit

In Queensland all business must have an asbestos management plan. Domestic houses, I brought one than found out how much asbestos it had so I sold it...

It is still in common use in many devloping countries, so when on holidays is when we are most at risk, possibly? I have seen it being cut with an angle grinder in the street in Bali with Aussies walking through the dust.

Originally Posted by bussy1963

The ACTU is calling for the national asbestos authority to manage the removal of asbestos from all buildings by 2030.
The union says that Australia has the world's highest rate per capita of asbestos-related deaths.
ACTU president Ged Kearney says the first place to start is with an audit.
<snip>
She says we need a prioritised removal program carried out by licenced removalists.
<snip>
A report from the Federal Government's asbestos management review is expected in June.

The ACTU is now on about another bailout/stimulus plan.

What a nightmare all the insulation installers will become "licenced removalists" and we know where that will end up. I worked for a clinic where "licenced removalists" were employed to remove the stuff from the ceiling space quarantining half the clinic at a time. One of the staff got up on a chair to investigate the monitors placed around the building. None of the monitors had batteries installed, a cleaver way to guarantee no contamination of the operational areas.

BTW, in many countries the health system is so poor that an accurate diagnosis of mesothelioma, particularly for the deceased, is beyond the budget of the system. These people are recorded as dying of natural causes or pneumonia or lung cancer if they are even seen by a doctor at all. Statistics of causes of death are generally only accurate in developed countries with centralised data collection for births and deaths. Places like Australia, so any wonder that we know the rate of asbestos related deaths.

To late for many

But anything that helps would be good.
Schools & many govt. buildings here are full of it.Some would need a complete refit to get rid of it.

Funding would definitely be a problem.

And what about all the costs to private building owners,whether it be a residential or commercial property.

There was a news story the other day about an approved asbestos removal company in Adelaide that went bust recently. Inspectors found asbestos waste in the open air everywhere, they hadn't complied with any handling rules at all....

I was on the understanding that it was only as issue if disturbed, so if it hasn't been disturbed so far, why would there be the need to remove it and spread the dust all around for everyone to possibly come into contact with the dust?

unless you start to cut, break or breathe in the particals it is ok in sheet form if looked after and not damaged. Ie paint kept up to it and dont bash a hole in it.

It is definitely a nasty, but alot have worked with it in bad conditions and still are fine. Example, a firery mate that is now in his 70's use to install super 6 fencing as a 2nd job in his yonger years. Super 6 is the large corrogation asbestos roofing. They would dig a trench, install the sheets vertiaclly, then mark a line along the tops so it was nice and straight. Using a power saw with the blade on backwards, one would walk along cutting it while the other held and removed the sheet tops/off cuts. All while wearing only a pair of stubbie shorts and thongs in the Qld summer......

I recently saw a roof replacement on a council building. It was a toilet block in a park at a busy local beach area. The Asbestos removers were all suited up. They had the lined bin etc. The job was fenced off with chain wire temporary fencing. All the while parents pushing their kids on a swing only 20 meters away...all this in open air. Now shouldnt have concil or the Asbesto removal company fenced off the whole park....oh and the crowed car park as the wind was Southerly and it blowing from the roof to where I parked.....

So once again there is all the worry, all the rules and no commonsense or plans for it to be done right. People can complain when they are propared to reach in their pockets and pay the full price to have it sorted properly

I too used to work with the stuff, I was working as a maintenance fitter on an asbestos mine in Zimbabwe and i worked in normal overalls and was often neck deep in it when changing bearings or doing other maintenance jobs. I believe there are different types of asbestos and not all are dangerous. Do they still use the long brittle fiber for filtering beer? They stopped for a while but when they couldn't find an alternative they went back to asbestos.