It has been really refreshing for us at Occuhealth to see that tradespeople are stopping the job and requesting asbestos testing on products before drilling or cutting suspicious materials.

Education on the correct procedures for working near or disturbing asbestos has improved, but tradespeople need to remain vigilant.

Constrution and maintenance workers are likely to be involved in work tasks that may disturb asbestos containing materials. Therefore, there is a substantial risk of potential exposure to asbestos in these workers. As highlighted in the news recently, asbestos containing products are still being imported and used in Australia. This is of major concern to tradesmen who work with the material and in most cases cut or drill into it.

According to the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency  in a 2014 commissioned survey of 401 Australian tradespeople, more than 1 in 10 tradespeople surveyed (12%) said they were not confident in their ability to identify materials that contain asbestos, while a further 23% said they were only moderately confident to do this.

Occuhealth can provide quick and reliable asbestos identification to NOHSC: 2018(2005) standards and NATA laboratory certification to ensure that the product being used if asbestos free.

To see how we can help you, contact Occuhealth on +61 8 9537 5700.