Asbestos kills

Since being lobbied, Channel Nine has announced it will include reference to having conducted an asbestos audit on its popular renovation program, The Block. The Executive Producer said viewers would also be advised to be aware of asbestos and seek advice on its presence and removal before undertaking renovations.

I recently received an email from a young woman who, together with her fiance, had ripped up their kitchen and hallway floors several years ago. A decent amount of dust was generated during this exercise. This couple had only recently been made aware the underlay was most likely asbestos. Now, at the age of 25, this woman wrote of her distress at the thought of not being able to watch her children grow up. She had never known that asbestos had been used as underlay, so she hadn’t given it a second thought. And why would she?

The Gillard Labor Government commissioned an independent Asbestos Management Review in 2010 which is expected to hand down its recommendations by June 30 of this year. The review aims to address the enhancement of education and public awareness, the removal, handling, storage and disposal of asbestos, the mandatory reporting and disclosure of asbestos and the mandatory collection of data and reporting on asbestos-related health issues.

Yet for many, the death sentence caused by exposure to asbestos was written decades ago. All that can be done is to ensure they receive adequate compensation. Research must continue to be funded in the hope of either a cure or better treatment, and victims and their families must be provided with appropriate support. 

There is no simple solution when it comes to asbestos, and the issue is further complicated by legislation falling across all three tiers of government. There is also the issue of cost. The removal and disposal of asbestos is expensive, which is one of the reasons people either fail to remove it, or do so themselves.

But what cost should we put on a human life?

The death of Lincoln Hall is a tragedy but it will not be in vain if it helps save lives in raising awareness of the very real risk associated with asbestos.   

Every day, an Australian dies from an asbestos-related disease, people aged anywhere from their 20s. If Australians continue to die from asbestos-related disease in the decades to come, we only have ourselves to blame.