Australians dumping asbestos in neighbours’ bins

According to the Asbestos Safety Eradication Agency, 28 per cent of people who found asbestos during home renovations admitted to disposing of it illegally, most commonly placing it in their household bin or a neighbour’s.

This statistic is especially concerning when just a single exposur, through something as seemingly harmless as accidentally breathing it in, can cause irreparable damage.

This includes an increased risk of lung, ovarian and laryngeal cancer and mesothelioma – a rare and aggressive tumour which appears in the lining of the lungs, abdomen or heart (also known as the mesothelium).

Sharing a statement to mark Asbestos Awareness Week (November 22-28), CEO of the Asbestos Safety Eradication Agency, Justine Ross said there “is no safe level of exposure to asbestos fibres”.

Ms Ross also dismissed the misconception that “asbestos-related disease is a thing of the past”, adding that the highly carcinogenic substance is in a third of homes across Australia.

“Asbestos is still causing cancer in Australians,” she said.

“Around 700 cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in Australia each year and the estimated annual health system expenditure for mesothelioma is more than $27 million annually.”

How do you safely get rid of asbestos?

In reality, asbestos is still expected to remain in “significant amounts” until 2060. This is based on the current rate of disposal of the estimated six million tonnes of legacy asbestos in Australia.

“Australia has huge amounts of legacy asbestos in the built environment, all of which is reaching the end of its product life,” said Ms Ross.

“We are using technology to help us better understand the location and density of it so it can be better managed.”

Previously used as an insulation material in construction projects, asbestos used to be added to materials like paper, cement or cloth to make them stronger.

In Australia, the properties which carry the biggest risk of asbestos were built between 1940 and 1990, with a complete ban placed on the use, importation, manufacture, storage, transport and sale of asbestos from December 31, 2003.

Despite this, it is possible to safely remove asbestos – something which must be carried out by a licensed asbestos removalist, i.e. not dumping it in a council bin.

The Asbestos Safety Eradication Agency is also developing a “national residential asbestos heatmap using data-driven artificial intelligence” in order to find the location and density of Australia’s past asbestos usage.

Slated for completion next year, Ms Ross said this will allow governments to target removal programs and protect homeowners and tradespeople.

“We want to see Australians treat asbestos with the same caution as electricity,” said Ms Ross “People working on homes built before 1990 can stay safe if they know where asbestos is, if they don’t disturb or damage it, and if they seek professional help to locate, manage or remove it.”

This initiative could be especially important given the unprecedented amount of renovations currently undertaken by Australian homeowners.

According to February 2021 figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the approved value of home renovations has exceeded a billion dollars for the first time ever. The latest figures from March 2021 report this figure grew to $1.14 billion.

In comparison, the average monthly value of approved home renovations was only $680 million in 2019.

What happens if you’re exposed to asbestos?

Often called a “silent killer”, the effects of asbestos exposure may not develop for five to 20 years.

Apart from mesothelioma, longer-term asbestos exposure can also cause a lung disease called asbestosis. This happens when scar tissue is created as the asbestos fibres continuously scar the lungs, which in turn causes them to stiffen.

Signs of asbestosis can include shortness of breath, a crackling sound in the lungs when breathing, a persistent, dry cough, hypertension, and a loss of weight of appetite.

Originally published as Asbestos: Alarming amount of Australians dumping poison in neighbours’ bins