» Toxic Trauma in Chelsea, Victoria: A Chelsea family has been forced to evacuate their home after it was showered with asbestos. An uninsured contractor blasted the potentially lethal fibres over the Bath St property while cleaning a neighbour’s roof with a high-pressure water hose. Click here to view this news item.

» Actor’s Death Highlights Mesothelioma Risk in Australia: Australian film actor Harold Hopkins, best known in the U.S. for playing opposite Mel Gibson in Gallipoli, has died of mesothelioma. Hopkins died at a Wahroonga hospice on Sydney's north shore on 11 December 2011, aged 67, of the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma.

Hopkins, famous for his roles in classic Australian films Don's Party, The Club and Gallipoli, was a lovable eccentric who will be remembered for the gritty, laconic characters he played on stage and screen. Click here to read more...

» Australia's Duty To Kill This Dust Devil: Few of us will forget the heroic struggle of anti-asbestos campaigner Bernie Banton, who died in 2007. Or his widow Karen, one of many Australian family members who have lost loved ones due to the harmful effects of this terrible substance. Along with Bernie, at least 10,000 other Australians have died from this crippling disease. People like John Cameron. Click here to read more…

» Bonded Asbestos Not So Safe: Cancer specialists last week heard that 'bonded asbestos' may not be as safe as once thought. The specialists gathered in Perth for an annual oncology conference and heard from the chairman of the Federal Government's Asbestos Management Review, Geoff Fary. Click here to read more…

» Canada's Shameful Toxic Trade: Click here to view Matt Peacock's recent chilling report on Foreign Correspondent.

» Renovations Spark 'Third Wave' of Asbestos Cases: A new study has found home renovations are causing an increasing number of cases of asbestos-related disease in Australia, especially in women. Click here to read more.

» Asbestos Victim Awarded $1m Payout: A Victorian Supreme Court jury has awarded compensation of more than $1 million to a man exposed to asbestos nearly 40 years ago. Click here to read more…

» Review Downplays School Asbestos Risk: ABC news reports that a review has found there was only a low risk that students at a school near Mildura were exposed to asbestos during recent building works. Click here to read more.

» Asbestos Warning Demand for Home Renovation TV: Unions have threatened to report home renovation shows like The Block and The Renovators to the media authorities if they do not broadcast warnings about asbestos in every episode. Click here for more...

» Australia Ratifies Convention to Help Protect Workers from Asbestos-related Health Hazards: Click here to read the announcement made on 29 July 2011 by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations Chris Evans and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.

» Increase in the Number of Women Diagnosed With Mesothelioma: As James Hardie announces they are cutting their contribution to the asbestos compensation fund, the number of women being diagnosed with mesothelioma is increasing at a rate of 4.9% per year. Click here to view the story reported on Channel 7 news on 20 May 2011.

» James Hardie to Cut Asbestos Contribution: James Hardie Industries says an internal restructuring of the company will lead it to cut its contribution to the asbestos injuries fund next year possibly by more than $US11 million. Read more...

» New Test Detects Early-stage, Asbestos- related Pulmonary Cancer: Researchers at New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center have investigated a novel protein test to detect early-stage, asbestos-related pulmonary cancer. The test can accurately identify proteins secreted from cancerous tumours caused by asbestos exposure. Read more...

» Global Magnitude of Reported and Unreported Mesothelioma: Results of a study published earlier this year looking at global data on mesothelioma cases reported from 1995-2008 has resulted in the conclusion that on a worldwide scale, one out of every four or five mesothelioma cases go unreported. Click here to view the research article.

» Geelong Flood Clean-up Warning: Geelong City Council warned that asbestos cement products may be present in structures that were built up until the late 1980s. Read more...

» Mechanic Wins Compensation for Working on Brake Pads and Linings: A retired mechanic who spent his career working on asbestos brake linings has become the first person to win compensation for deadly lung cancer. Read more...

» Flood Victims Warned of Asbestos Dangers: Queensland flood victims may be exposing themselves to unseen dangers like asbestos as they go about cleaning up and repairing their homes. Many residents have started ripping out water damaged walls and sheeting which may contain the cancer-causing material. Click here to view the ABC news report dated 20 January 2011.

» Grandmother Geraldine Shea Killed by Doing Her Husband's Washing:The simple act of doing her husband's laundry cost Geraldine Shea her life. Read more...

»  Killing Time:A new drama series "Killing Time" focusing on the James Hardie asbestos trail of diaster is in the pipeline for 2011.  Read more...

» Asbestos Deaths and James Hardie: While James Hardie and other companies stopped manufacturing asbestos building products a couple of decades ago, the death toll from asbestos is far from over. Screened on the ABC in 2009, the program "Asbestos Deaths and James Hardie" is a frightening insight into how simple home renovations can have devastating outcomes. Click here to view this chilling story.

» Asbestos Mining Likely to Recommence in Canada: The mining town of Asbestos in Quebec is planning to recommence mining of asbestos even though data from the World Health Organisation estimates that 90,00 deaths a year worldwide are caused by asbestos. Read more...

» Dangers In the Dust: Inside the Global Asbestos Trade:Experts are warning that by 2030 asbestos could be linked to millions of deaths. Read more...

» Lawyers Warn of Asbestos Risk at Altona College: Lawyers have expressed concern that students at Altona College in Melbourne's west could be exposed to deadly asbestos dust while buildings are demolished as part of a school merger. Read more...

» Asbestos and the Home Renovator - Beware: Asbestos induced cancer is the worst industrial disaster in the world and will kill more people than Bhopal and Chernobyl. Click here for more information on the program "Dust to Dust" that was screened on Channel 7 on 20 June 2010 about this fresh asbestos epidemic.

» Australian Mesothelioma Registry: The Australian Mesothelioma Registry will be managed by a consortium led by the Cancer Institute New South Wales and will include some of the leading experts in asbestos related disease in Australia. Read more...

» Asbestos Under Our Carpet: The ABC's 7.30 Report ran an item on 24 August 2009 relating to the use of sacks to transport asbestos by James Hardie. These sacks were then recycled to create carpet underlay. There is no way to thoroughly remove asbestos fibres, therefore home renovators are putting themselves at risk of asbestos exposure simply by pulling up old carpet. Click here to read the transcript.

2009 Victorian Bushfires

The general advice is to review points in relation to potential for passive asbestos exposure of persons assessing or visiting fire damaged property.

The collection of personal belongings, equipment and other materials may be under ash and asbestos contaminated materials. Cement sheet and associated asbestos products may be loosely present in the property. While the risk of exposure is low, the advice presented on the Victorian Department of Health website relating to bushfire damage should be reviewed in relation to this issue for instruction.

Also, please refer to your local council for appropriate procedures to be followed with regard to asbestos and its disposal.

Links

Please refer to the Department of Health links below for relevant information:

http://www.health.vic.gov.au/environment/emergency_mgmnt/bushfire.htm 
http://www.health.vic.gov.au/environment/community/asbestos.htm