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This article was published on Friday, 20 November, 2015. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

NOvember Is National Asbestos Awareness Month 2015

Does Your Home Contain Asbestos? How Would You kNOw?
Don’t Play Renovation Roulette! - Get to kNOw Asbestos this NOvember! Visit asbestosawareness.com.au - It’s not worth the risk!

There is no known safe level of exposure to asbestos fibres so it’s very important to safely manage asbestos-containing materials that can be found in and around homes.

With 1 in 3 Australian homes containing asbestos in some form or another, and with the popularity of home renovation programs rising inspiring an ongoing boom in renovations, now more than ever before, homeowners, renovators, tradies and handymen need to

Get to kNOw Asbestos this NOvember and visit asbestosawareness.com.au to protect themselves and their families from dangerous asbestos fibres.

Peter Dunphy Chair of the Asbestos Education Committee heading the national Asbestos Awareness Month campaign said, "Many Australians believe that only fibro homes contain asbestos but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

"Because Australia was among the highest consumers of asbestos products in the world, asbestos-containing materials are common in homes built or renovated before 1987 with a broad range of products still commonly found in and around any brick, weatherboard, fibro or clad home.

"Without knowing where these products might be found in homes, people are playing ‘Renovation Roulette’ and putting their health and the health of families at risk so homeowners, renovators, tradesmen and handymen must

Get to kNOw Asbestos this NOvember by taking the 20 Point Asbestos Safety Check at asbestosawareness.com.au to learn how to identify these products and manage asbestos safely," he said.

People would be surprised at where they might find the hidden danger of asbestos in a home built or renovated before 1987. It could be anywhere! Under floor coverings such as carpets, linoleum and vinyl tiles, behind wall and floor tiles, in cement floors, internal and external walls, ceilings and ceiling space (insulation), eaves, garages, roofs, around hot water pipes, fences, extensions to homes, garages, outdoor toilets, backyard and farm sheds, chook sheds and even dog kennels.

"By visiting asbestosawareness.com.au people will be able to easily search to identify the sorts of products to look for, the locations of where they might be found and learn how to manage it and dispose of it safely," he said.

Prior to 1987, many homes were constructed from low-cost fibro (bonded asbestos cement sheeting) to meet the growing demand for housing and it was common practice for builders and labourers to bury broken pieces of asbestos materials on building sites which can now be exposed when digging, gardening or redeveloping properties or land.

Fibro was also commonly used when building garages to house the new family car, to build Dad’s shed and when adding extensions to existing brick or weatherboard homes such as family rooms while ‘weekenders’ were often built from fibro as low-cost holiday homes.

In rural settings many farm buildings were constructed from fibro as a cost-effective means of housing equipment and stock and it was also widely used to construct ‘sleep-out’ additions to farmhouses, workers accommodation and community housing throughout much of regional Australia.