Australia’s Asbestos Measurements Not Tough Enough, Expert Says

Tougher criteria for measuring asbestos in the air are needed to shield Australian society – especially children – from long-term asbestos exposure, a leading mineral scientist says.

AsianScientist (Sep. 15, 2011) – Australia still has the world’s highest rates of cancer from asbestos disease – and needs to toughen its measures to prevent it, Mr. Mike van Alphen of The University of South Australia told the Clean Up 2011 conference in Adelaide today.

“Although there is a low risk of asbestos exposure in the general population, certain residents are still vulnerable to the substance in their homes,” he said.

“The key is discovering high risk settings and then eliminating the risk. There is also a need for public involvement and transparency in relation to setting an acceptable level of risk.”

Mr. van Alphen, whose research is focused on characterizing different asbestos minerals and identifying the potential health risks, argued that Australia’s current methods for measuring asbestos in the environment are insufficient to protect the public from long-term, low-level exposure, particularly in the case of children.

For example, although most of the houses built in Australia between the 1930s and the 1980s contain some asbestos, it is mostly workplaces that are constantly examined for asbestos, he said.

He now questions whether common products such as asbestos-backed vinyl floor sheeting should be removed from older Australian homes.

“Conventionally, air measurement techniques for asbestos have a detection limit of 10,000 fiber per cubic meter of air,” he said.

“However detection limits of 1,000 fibers per cubic meter of air or lower may be needed in order to identify unacceptable risk settings if people are subjected to longer-term exposures to asbestos fibers in air,” he cautioned.

Mr. van Alphen has good reason to be concerned.

A recent study published in the September issue of the Medical Journal of Australia has found a sharp increase in the number of malignant mesothelioma cases among do-it-yourself (DIY) home renovators in Western Australia over the past decade.

In a study of 47 Asian countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) found that Asian countries accounted for 64 percent of the global consumption of asbestos in the period of 2001 to 2007, a striking increase from 14 percent between 1920 and 1970.

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Source: CRC CARE.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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