Asbestos Misconceptions Alarmingly High Amongst Tradespeople

A recent Safe Work Australia report has revealed that most tradespersons lack the knowledge of how to recognise asbestos or control risks when working with it, despite the fact that most are aware of the potential health risks of asbestos.

The Asbestos Exposure and Compliance Study of Construction and Maintenance Workers report released by Safe Work Australia aimed to determine the current levels of awareness, worker compliance with legislation, the attitudes of workers and exposure levels to asbestos in construction and maintenance workers.

The study revealed that insufficient asbestos identification skills, absent or inaccurate asbestos registers and a lack of labelling of materials or areas containing asbestos all affect tradespersons’ ability to identify asbestos.

The study also found that:

• Almost all tradespeople surveyed believed they could protect themselves from the risk of asbestos, yet the overall level of compliance with safety procedures was much lower than was estimated by these workers.
• There was inappropriate disposal of asbestos and contaminated materials.
• Atmospheric monitoring of a limited number of selected work tasks showed that all exposures were below the workplace exposure standard.
• According to Safe Work Australia Chair Tom Phillips, the study adds to our knowledge of the awareness of and compliance with occupational health and safety legislation by tradespeople in relation to asbestos.

“It is concerning that although tradespeople have a high level of awareness and confidence in being able to protect themselves, this is not matched with the use of necessary safety precautions when working with asbestos.

“The results of this study will be used to inform effective strategies to eliminate, or reduce, worker exposure to asbestos.

“Local, state and federal governments must work together to improve worker education and information on asbestos, particularly the development of practical advice on how workers can protect themselves from exposure to asbestos, and on safe asbestos removal and disposal,” Mr Phillips said.

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