Asbestos Management Review
Mr Geoff Fary, previously Assistant Secretary of the ACTU, has been tasked by the Australian government to undertake a review of Asbestos Management in this country. After extensive consultations, Mr Fary has released an Issues Paper for
public comment. The government has asked the Review to make
recommendations for the development of a national strategic plan to
improve asbestos awareness and management. Aspects to be considered are:
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the enhancement of education and public awareness;
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the efficacy of asbestos import and export controls;
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asbestos removal, handling, storage and disposal;
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mandatory reporting and disclosure where asbestos is detected; and
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mandatory collection of data and reporting on associated health issues.
- All building materials have a finite ‘life’. All materials erode. Asbestos containing materials must be eliminated. Asbestos does not ever get safer. It gets more hazardous.
- The Aim of a National Strategic Plan should be ‘The elimination of all Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) from the built environment in Australia by 2030'.
- Priority areas for action are:
- A National Audit of Asbestos, including asbestos in the built environment and naturally occurring asbestos
- Education and raising of public awareness
- Nationally consistent legislation to cover all areas of asbestos
- Oversight of nationally consistent data management and reporting on issues
- Prioritised Removal of all ACM.
- A stand-alone Statutory Authority must be created to oversee the National Plan. This will ensure clear focus on the job. No existing body can provide this undivided focus.
- Activities under the Plan:
- A national Audit, including location and condition of ACM, level of risk and who is responsible for removal. Publicly owned buildings are the first priority.
- Privately owned domestic residences to be audited at point of sale, when a planning or building permit is needed, or within 7 years, whichever occurs first. Remote and rural areas must be a particular area of focus, including indigenous communities.
- The location of all asbestos disposal sites must be publicly revealed. Evaluation of the safety of those sites must also occur.
- A ‘Prioritised Removal’ program is needed:
- Red to take out ACM immediately,
- Yellow to take out within 5 years, and
- Green, within 15 years.
- Asbestos removal is only to be conducted by licensed asbestos removalists
- All ACMs to be removed from the built environment by 2030. The Standard ‘Risk Management’ approach is not good enough.
- There are no ‘safe alternatives’ to asbestos removal.
- Licensing and regulation of removalists need to improve.
- The transport, storage and disposal of ACMs needs to be consistent through-out Australia.
- A saturation awareness campaign on asbestos, and the need to remove it, should occur.
- The newly harmonised Asbestos Regulations for workplaces will come into force on 1 January 2012 - while there may be some improvements in some states, there will need to be a 'watching brief' to ensure there are no weakening of protections in Victoria.
The VTHC Submission to the Review Issues paper is attached on the right hand side of this page.