Renovators have been handed a “lifesaving” tool to tackle asbestos in the home as part of 2024’s annual National Awareness Month.
Despite being over two decades after this once-common building material was outlawed, asbestos is still counted as one of the nation’s deadliest silent killers today as renovators tear into Australia’s aging housing stock.
With over one in three homes still hiding the fatal fibres in their walls, it’s estimated roughly 4,000 Aussies are killed every year due to inhaling the particles – more than double the national road toll.
So in a never-ending mission to curb these frightening figures, the National Asbestos Awareness campaign has once again ramped up its marketing machine to bring homeowners a new ‘must have’ safety tool for any Aussie looking to tackle projects around the house.
This free ‘Asbestos in Homes’ digital portal, curated specifically for homeowners and landlords, offers up a massive supply of educational videos and free resources covering what to do (and not do) when renovating, demolishing or maintaining properties.
And more importantly – they know their stuff. All info has been curated by industry leaders in asbestos safety, pulling in big names like President of Asbestos & Hazmat Removal Contractors Association of NSW (AHRCA) John Batty and Australian renovation icon Cherie Barber.
Clare Collins, Chair of Advocacy Australia and the Asbestos Education Committee said that this year’s offering is their most robust yet and hands homeowners everything they need to know before they pick up the tools.
“In our new, 20-minute real-life, step-by-step video, Asbestos in Homes: A Guide to Identification, Testing and Removal we talk about 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 and maintenance,” she said.
“It was used everywhere!”
Ms Barber, who is a long-standing Asbestos Awareness Ambassador who lost her grandfather to an asbestos-related disease, warned Aussies that the importance of staying vigilant for deadly fibres on the home was only growing as homeowners begin to grow complacent.
“Because Australia was one of the highest consumers of asbestos-containing materials globally, one in three Aussie homes still contain potentially deadly asbestos in a wide-range of products,” she said.
“Many don’t know that asbestos was not only used in the construction of fibro homes but 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.”
For these older homes, Barber said asbestos could be hiding almost anywhere in the home, 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!” she said.
“The main message we want people to hear is what NOT to do with asbestos! Don’t cut it! Don’t drill it! Don’t drop it! Don’t sand it! Don’t saw it! Don’t scrape it! Don’t scrub it! Don’t dismantle it! Don’t tip it! Don’t waterblast it! Don’t demolish it! Don’t dump it! And whatever you do… DON’T remove it yourself!
Although some states allow homeowners to remove up to ten square metres of asbestos-containing materials without the use of licensed tradies, the group said any hazardous work ran a greater risk of exposing families to killer fibres.
“For those planning to renovate a home built before 1990, not only do they need to budget for licenced electrical, plumbing and construction trades, it’s essential they incorporate licenced asbestos professionals into their reno budget, who will inspect and safely remove asbestos. It’s just not worth the risk!” she added.
“Renovating is exciting but ignoring the warnings by knocking down walls, smashing off tiles, ripping up carpets and pulling down fences and sheds might not only cost you your life, if asbestos isn’t removed and disposed of appropriately, it could end up costing a small fortune to dispose of and remediate a contaminated site.”
