The Asbestos Information & Support Service Inc: AISS is a not-for-profit, community based charitable organisation run by volunteers and is centrally located in Melbourne’s CBD, Australia.

AISS, previously known as the Victorian Asbestos Diseases Society, has provided support and assistance to Victorian asbestos disease sufferers and their families for more than 12 years. AISS survives solely on donation and membership.

Parliamentary Group To Put Spotlight On Asbestos

Federal politicians are pledging greater support for the 'national calamity' of asbestos disease with creation of a new parliamentary group that has cross party support and  backing from senior government ministers.
 


Tasmanian Senator Lisa Singh and MP Russell Broadbent, launched PGARD during Asbestos Awareness week at Parliament House. Sponsored by Maurice Blackburn, the event attracted over 70 people including federal ministers Kevin Rudd and Greg Combet, representatives of state based asbestos support organisations and the asbestos management industry.

 Click here for more information.

Manufacturers Urged To Warn Homeowners of Asbestos Exposure Risk

Asbestos manufacturers have a legal duty of care to warn homeowners of the risks of asbestos exposure during home maintenance and renovations, according to an article published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.

Mr John Gordon, a Melbourne barrister, and co-author Dr James Leigh, Occupational Physician at the University of Sydney, write that the two manufacturers of asbestos cement products used in home construction and renovation in Australia have never warned homeowners of the risks of asbestos exposure during renovations.

Neither James Hardie nor CSR have ever taken any steps to systematically warn people who have asbestos products in their homes of the potential fatal consequences in 20-40 years if they demolish those products today, the authors said.

“We believe that the manufacturers have a legal duty of care to those people who have the manufacturers’ building products in their homes.”

The authors were responding to research published in the MJA that showed cases of malignant mesothelioma (MM) caused by asbestos exposure during home maintenance and renovation had increased markedly in the past decade. Dr Peter Franklin, from the University of Western Australia, Prof Bill Musk, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital, and co-authors reviewed all cases of MM diagnosed in WA from 1960 to the end of 2008. They found that, for both men and women, home renovators now constitute the largest proportion of all non- occupational cases of MM related to asbestos exposure.

“For men, the proportion of home renovation cases increased from about three per cent in the 1990s to over eight per cent over the last four years of the study,” the authors said. “For women, home renovation cases have increased from around five per cent of all cases in the 1990s to over 35 per cent for the period 2005-2008."

“Our study confirms the rising trend in diagnosis of MM resulting from exposure to asbestos during renovation activities in and around the home. MM cases related to renovation will probably continue to increase because of the many homes that have contained, and still contain, asbestos building products,” the authors said.

The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.

Australian Mesothelioma Registry

The long anticipated Australian Mesothelioma Registry (AMR) website has been developed as a stand alone database that contains information about people with mesothelioma.

The register will monitor all new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in Australia from 01 July 2010.

Safe Work Australia, an Australian Government agency, fully funds the AMR. The information collected by the AMR will help the Australian Government develop policies to best deal with the asbestos still present in Australia's buildings and architecture, with the aim of reducing mesothelioma in the future.

If you are a mesothelioma patient or a medical professional and are approached to participate in the AMR, we encourage you to become involved. Your participation will help towards preventing mesothelioma in the future.

Click here to access the AMR.