Dust Diseases & Asbestos
4. Asbestos Information
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 20 Jul 2015
- Asbestos refers to the group of six naturally occurring mineral fibres belonging to the serpentine and the amphibole group.
- The serpentine group refers to white asbestos and the amphibole group refers to brown, grey or blue asbestos.
- In Australia asbestos was widely used in construction and regularly mined for its versatile mineral properties until 1984.
- It is estimated that around one third of all Australia homes that were built prior to the mid 1980s used some asbestos containing materials.
- Asbestos poses a significant health risk if the materials that contain it are not properly maintained or removed from a site by qualified asbestos removalists.
- Even slight exposure to asbestos can be damaging.
- The most common disease developed as a consequence of asbestos exposure is asbestosis. People suffering from this disease have trouble breathing due to the scarring of the spongy part of the lung. This progressive disease gets worse over time. Severe cases can result in death.
- The most deadly disease developed as a consequence of exposure to asbestos dust is asbestos induced carcinoma of the lung. This is a fatal cancer of the lung and often referred to as bronchogenic carcinoma. Most people die within 2 years of being diagnosed with this type of carcinoma.
- Another common dust disease is mesothelioma. This is an aggressive cancer affecting the membrane lining of the lungs and abdomen. Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious asbestos-related disease and can take up to 60 years to manifest from the time the person was exposed to asbestos.
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