Asbestos is lethal and is listed as a known carcinogen causing health effects if fibres are breathed into the lungs such as asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma and benign pleural disease. The Cancer Institute of NSW (2011) reports that survival of mesothelioma is poor, with 40 per cent of people surviving one year after diagnosis and 4.5 per cent surviving after five years.

To place the issue of asbestos exposure and associated detrimental effects in real human terms, the incidence rate in 1982 of new cases of mesothelioma was 1.2 per 100,000 population; compared to the 2006 rate of mesothelioma being 2.7 per 100,000 population

With as many as one in three Australian homes containing asbestos (Asbestos Education Committee, 2011) and no safe level of exposure to asbestos fibres (ibid) the risk of emergency service personnel attending to an incident where asbestos is present is extremely high. Over the past three years alone, there has been considerable media interest in potential asbestos exposure after natural disasters such as Cyclone Yasi, Brisbane Floods, Cyclone Carlos and the Victoria Bushfires to name a few.

The need to encourage transformational change and undertake a proactive risk management approach to how emergency service agencies deal with incidents where asbestos is present is becoming paramount. Increasing the situational awareness to asbestos and potential contamination of emergency service personnel will greatly reduce their risk to asbestos exposure. 

The research undertaken compared current Australian emergency services training, policies and procedures when the likelihood of exposure to asbestos is suspected or confirmed, ensuring they comply with Australian Standards and current Australian best practice policies. This is the first known research of its kind to be undertaken in Australia.

This presentation will highlight the research and its results for the first time to the public.