Asbestos Risk Study Seeks to Raise Worker Awareness in Australia

AUSTRALIA: Asbestos Exposure and Compliance Study of Construction and Maintenance Workers

SafeWork Australia recently released a new report designed 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, according to Chair Tom Phillips.

Phillips said the study adds significantly to the knowledge of the awareness of and compliance with occupational health and safety legislation by tradespersons in relation to asbestos.

Study Findings
1. Most tradespersons were aware of the potential health risks of asbestos.
2. A high level of general awareness is not accompanied by knowledge of how to recognize asbestos or control the risks when working with it. Although tradespersons believe they can identify asbestos materials, in practice their ability to reliably identify the materials was limited. Generally, this seemed to insufficient identification skills, asbestos registers were often absent or inaccurate and few premises labeled materials and/or areas containing asbestos.
3. Almost all trades people surveyed thought they could protect themselves from the risk of asbestos. However, the overall level of compliance with safety procedures was much lower than was estimated by these workers.
4. There was inappropriate disposal of asbestos and contaminated materials.
5. Atmospheric monitoring of a limited number of selected work tasks showed that all exposures were below the workplace exposure standard.

“It is concerning that although trades people 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," Phillips commented. (workersxzcompxzkit)

“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. This will help to reduce both individual suffering and the substantial cost to families and the community,” Phillips added.

Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers' Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: Robert_Elliott@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.

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