Property 101: Asbestos healthy house checklists for homeowners and tradies launched
Step-by-step guidelines to help identify asbestos in domestic properties has been released by the Asbestos Education Committee in partnership with the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute.
The guides, ‘Asbestos Awareness Healthy House Checklist – A Homeowners Guide To Identifying Asbestos-Containing Materials’ and the ‘Residential Checklist For Tradies – A Tradespersons Guide To Asbestos Containing Materials In Domestic Properties’ is available from www.asbestosawareness.com.au.
The checklists include product images and lists each possible location where asbestos-containing materials might be found both inside and outside homes as well as simple step-by-step instructions.
Cherie Barber, Asbestos Awareness Campaign Ambassador said the health risks to anyone working on domestic properties when asbestos materials are disturbed is something every Australian needs to take seriously because asbestos doesn’t discriminate.
“The Healthy House Checklist provides a practical guide for homeowners enabling them to conduct a simple step-by-step easy to follow visual inspection of their property," she said.
“In doing so, homeowners will improve their understanding of the sorts of products to look for, the locations where asbestos might be found and how to manage these products safely.
"The checklist also enables homeowners to maintain a record of possible asbestos locations should work or renovations be anticipated in the future and monitor asbestos-containing materials to ensure they remain sealed,” she said.
“Until now, the only information available to homeowners wishing to conduct visual inspections of residential properties has often been cumbersome, complex, extensive documents that can be difficult to access."
Peter Dunphy, Founding Chair of the Asbestos Education Committee said, tradespersons are particularly at risk because all too often they’ve come from a culture where asbestos risks have been ignored.”
“While tradies may have worked with asbestos in the past and ignored the warnings, they need to be aware that the more a person is exposed to fibres, the greater the risk of developing asbestos-related diseases so it’s vital that they conduct visual inspections of properties to look for the potential dangers to ensure they’re managed safely," he said.
“The ‘Residential Checklist For Tradies – A Tradespersons Guide To Asbestos Containing Materials In Domestic Properties’ will increase Tradies’ understanding of the various products they need to be wary of when working on residential properties and ensure they engage suitably qualified professionals to conduct asbestos-related work or remove asbestos-containing materials safely."