Asbestos News

An occupational health expert in Australia is warning that a proposal before parliament would put workers at risk of asbestos exposure.

Eric Kokoschko, the principal occupational hygienist at Kemm Environmental, is urging the government to not take away the requirement that air monitoring be present during asbestos removal, reports the Adelaide Advertiser.

"Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases in the world. I fail to understand how the relaxation of our current controls can provide the necessary protection from exposure," he told the news source. "It is my professional opinion that whenever any form of asbestos is disturbed then asbestos monitoring should be mandatory for the following reasons: it provides hard scientific data of the level of airborne asbestos fibres associated with the operation."

Asbestos removal can be a very dangerous process as the inhalation of the deadly mineral fiber can cause a number of serious illnesses such as malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer. Due to these hazards the abatement of the naturally occurring substance needs to be strictly monitored.

The news source reports that Kokoschko was one of several experts who wrote letters to lawmakers warning of the folly of the proposal.