MesotheliomaWeb.Org: Australian Unions Convened National Asbestos Summit
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A nationwide summit on the issue of asbestos in homes was held last week in Sydney, Australia. The country’s labor unions and the Australian Cancer Council sponsored the event. Ian Oliver, the chief operating officer for the Cancer Council, said in a report that the country’s death toll from mesothelioma could reach over eighteen thousand in the next ten years. Since malignant mesothelioma is known to have a long latency period, the full effects from the disease may not be understood for decades.
At the summit, Mr. Oliver also said that Australia has the world’s highest incidence rate per capita of mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer often caused by exposure to asbestos. He said the high incidence rates and consequent fatality rates are often attributable to “poor community awareness” as well as a “disjointed approach” that shows the lack of coordination between local, state and national government agencies.
The Cancer Council, along with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU), called for the summit to discuss the rising prevalence of the disease. Patients diagnosed with the disease, along with their families, also attended the event.
One of the primary objectives of the meeting was to coordinate efforts between trade unions, government offices and health care professionals to provide much needed help to thousands of patients across the country. The other goal of the summit was to assemble a program that would rid the entire country of asbestos by 2030.
Paul Bastian, president of the AMWU, reportedly said that the groups assembled at the summit would create a National Asbestos Unit. The new agency, independent of both government officials and labor leadership, would consist of experts on mesothelioma, patient support agencies and existing regulatory offices.
According to Mr. Bastian, the National Asbestos Unit would “act as an information hub” and organize plans on a nationwide scale to enact both asbestos removal programs and education efforts for workers and homeowners. Mr. Bastian said that he specifically wanted to target homeowners with a public education campaign after learning that up to a million homes could contain the carcinogenic mineral. The Herald Sun reported he also said that properties should come with asbestos certifications, similar to those for building safety and pest control issues, to inform homeowners of the extent of asbestos for any property available for sale.
Paul McKeone, owner of Asbestos Identification Services in Bundaberg, told reporters that many of the houses in his city that were constructed as late as the 1980s could contain asbestos. It was also reported he said that “it’s very common” to find asbestos in homes throughout the city of 47,000, which lies 240 miles north of the state capital of Brisbane. He also said that asbestos is much more prevalent than most homeowners understand, despite the disturbing information in recent news stories.
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