It looked like the worst was over back in 2006 when the battle for compensation over asbestos caused diseases resulted in a huge compensation fund being setup by James Hardie Industries. At that time, it was assumed that the victims would be those who worked at the asbestos mine in Wittenoom in the West Australian Pilbarra and tradespeople who processed the asbestos products produced by the James Hardie factories.
The net widened when it became obvious that asbestos fibres on the clothes of workers could transfer to their wives and children in the home and when laundered. The product was banned in the 1980's but a steady stream of Mesothelioma cases kept claims ticking over and building authorities worried about the extent of asbestos remaining on the existing housing stock. Just about every home in this country that had preceded the 1980's was riddled with asbestos products.
This week the asbestos claim format widened. For the first time a do-it-yourself home handyman renovating a pre-1980's house became a victim of Mesothelioma and sought compensation from the NSW Dust Diseases tribunal. The granting of that claim has opened the door for an avalanche of actions as the housing industry goes into renovation mode.
Fortunately, legislation is already in place to reduce the risk when an older home is demolished to make way for a new structure. The demolition permit requires all asbestos products to be stripped, wet down and bagged before further work proceeds and this is now carried out by licensed contractors with specialist training.
The danger is the vast array of existing homes that are going to get minor renovations by home handymen and handywomen. Something as simple and minor as drilling a hole to run wires for an outside light can be deadly if the drill is biting into an asbestos sheet and ejects fibres into the air - to be breathed in by the person using the drill.
Unfortunately, many people are unaware of all the products that contain asbestos - and there is no safe limit below which exposure is harmless. We have a ticking time bomb in the vast multitude of older homes that contain this product - and it seems that Mesothelioma may be with us for centuries to come.
A good reason any intending renovator should visit the local hardware store, explain in detail to one of the trained staff exactly what work is intended - and gain guidance about where to expect to encounter asbestos products.
That would be a truly life saving precaution !
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