Aussies urged to stop playing renovation roulette
Aussie women with a passion for renovating are being warned to stop playing renovation roulette during National Asbestos Awareness Week (22-28 November 2021) following new figures released by the Australian Mesothelioma Registry (AMR).
The AMR figures demonstrate a concerning increase in malignant mesothelioma deaths among women with cases doubling between 1997 and 2019 – a significant and worrying increase particularly as women are more proactive in renovating their homes than ever before.
Mesothelioma is a rare and progressive cancer caused by exposure to asbestos fibres. It can take 20-50 years before mesothelioma is detected. There is no cure and the average survival time after diagnosis can be a little as 10-12 months.
The AMR report also noted that between 2012 and 2020 the number of female deaths from mesothelioma increased by 67.74% compared to males who increased by just 9.75%. The age of those diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2020 ranged from as young as 19 years to 101 years, and although a higher number of men were diagnosed overall than women, 93.2% of women attributed exposure to asbestos fibres during non-occupational activities including exposure to asbestos fibres as a result of renovations or living in a home where asbestos-containing materials may have been disturbed.
With Australians ongoing fascination for renovating fuelled by the popularity of home improvement reality TV shows, and with women now playing a significant, active, hands-on role in restoring and flipping properties; serious concerns have been raised that women DIYers might be risking their lives and the lives of their families if they fail to respect the potentially life-threatening risks posed if asbestos is not managed safely.
If undisturbed, well maintained and in stable, sealed condition, asbestos-containing products are considered unlikely to pose health risks. However, just as electricity can be deadly, asbestos can be equally lethal when invisible fibres are disturbed and inhaled when asbestos is not managed safely during renovations, maintenance, removal or during the demolition of older properties or sheds.
With a staggering 4000 deaths each year from asbestos-related diseases including asbestosis and lung cancer, and an alarming number of deaths from mesothelioma attributed to both occupational and non-occupational exposure during residential renovations; it’s clear that both homeowners and tradespersons must start to respect asbestos risks particularly when working on home renovations and visit asbestosawareness.com.au to find out what they need to know to manage asbestos safely.
Amid Australia’s multi-billion dollar home renovation boom, the National Asbestos Awareness campaign aims to reduce asbestos-related diseases by urging renovators and tradies to ‘Stop playing renovation roulette because it’s not worth the risk’ and start to respect the dangers of asbestos just as they respect the dangers of electricity when renovating or maintaining homes.
Have you attempted your own home renovations? Did you get your property checked for asbestos before conducting the work?
We had an Electrician put in an air-conditioner for us at our old home, 25 years ago. It was in the dining room. He started to get out his electric angle grinder and proceeded to cut through the fibro wall. The dust was everywhere and I told him to stop so I could put some plastic sheeting up to stop the dust. I told him it was fibro and he said everything was alright. I think this was before people were getting affected by the asbestos. Anyway he put in the air conditioner and I spent a couple of hours cleaning up the place. I think back now how dangerous that was and wondered if he is alive today after inhaling all that asbestos. He said he installed many of them.