The document provides guidance on how to safely renovate or demolish structures that may contain asbestos. It outlines that asbestos was commonly used in construction until the 1980s and can be found in roofing, flooring, insulation and other building materials. The key risks are exposure to airborne asbestos fibers through activities like cutting or sanding asbestos materials. The document recommends checking for asbestos before starting renovation work and hiring a licensed asbestos removal contractor if it is discovered.

1. Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing
yourself and those around you to asbestos
Presented by:
Bret Baker
President of the
Asbestos Removal Contractors Association NSW
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

2. What is asbestos?
• Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fibre mined from the earth. It is strong, flexible, and resistant to heat, chemicals and electrical
conditions.
• The three most common forms of asbestos are white (chrysotile), brown (amosite) and blue (crocidolite).
Asbestos properties
• Asbestos has many properties that once made it attractive to industry including:
– stability when heated
– strength under tension
– chemical resistance
– water resistance or absorbency (depending on type of asbestos)
– suitability for weaving and reinforcing
– electrical resistance
Past use
• In the past, asbestos was used in around 3000 products manufactured worldwide, most commonly in the construction, car
manufacturing and textile industries.
• It was generally manufactured in the following forms:
– fibrous (limpet asbestos)
– woven (cloth, tape or sleeving)
– wound (rope)
– mixed with a binder, such as calcium silicate (to make asbestos cement or vinyl floor products containing asbestos).
• Because of its strength and its ability to resist heat and chemicals, asbestos was used in a range of insulation materials.
• This means older commercial and industrial buildings may contain a variety of asbestos products, including non-friable asbestos. Older
homes are more likely to contain non-friable asbestos products such as asbestos-cement sheeting in walls and ceilings, or roof cladding
made from corrugated asbestos-cement. Asbestos may be found in structures built as late as the mid- to late 1980s.
• Today, the use of asbestos is banned through Australia. This ban applies to manufacture, supply, storage, sale, use, reuse, installation
and replacement of asbestos, except in special circumstances (e.g. removal and disposal of asbestos, bona fide research, etc.).
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

3. Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos
State Location Asbestos Type
New South Wales Baryulgil Chrysotile
Woods Reef Chrysotile
Orange district Tremolite
Gundagai district Actinolite
Broken Hill district Chrysotile
Tasmania Beaconsfield district Chrysotile, Amphibole
Zeehan district Chrysotile
South Australia Robertstown Crocidolite
Flinders Rangers (Oraparinna
Station)
Crocidolite
Truro district Crocidolite, Tremolite
Cowell Chrysotile
Western Australia Lionel Chrysotile
(Pilbara) Sloansville Chrysotile
Nunyeri Chrysotile
Wittenoom Gorges Crocidolite
Yampire Gorge Crocidolite
Colonial Gorge Crocidolite
Bindi Bindi Anthophyllite
Australian Asbestos Mining History
Summary of Mining History in Australia, 1880-1976
(Nevill, 1994; Imray & Neville, 1993)

4. Asbestos Cement Trading Product Names
The following list shows approximate dates when typical products ceased to
be manufactured with asbestos fibre:
• Hardiflex 1981
• Hardiplank 1981
• Villaboard 1981
• Versilux 1982
• Harditherm 1984
• Compressed 1984
• Drain Pipe 1984
• Super Six 1985
• Highline 1985
• Shadowline 1985
• Coverline 1985
• Roofing Accessories 1985
• Pressure Pipe 1987
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

5. HEALTH EFFECTS
Overview
Asbestos fibres enter the body when people breathe in or swallow airborne particles. These particles can then become embedded in the tissues of the respiratory
or digestive systems.
Asbestos is now recognised as a human carcinogen — a substance that can cause cancer. It can cause:
– asbestosis (lung scarring)
– mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the chest cavity)
– lung cancer.
ASBESTOSIS
• Asbestosis causes widespread interstitial fibrosis (scar tissue between the alveoli, spread over the lung).
• It is difficult to distinguish from other causes of interstitial fibrosis.
• Only confirmation of exposure to asbestos or detection of unusually high numbers of asbestos fibres in the lung is considered conclusive evidence of this disease.
• The rate of onset of asbestosis is not related to the level of exposure.
• However, the rate at which the disease progresses is related to the level of exposure.
MESOTHELIOMA
• Mesothelioma is a tumour of the chest lining, abdominal lining and occasionally the heart lining.
• It is a very rare disease — incidence is 1 in every 100,000 for males and 0.3 in every 100,000 for females.
• Mesothelioma is not related to smoking.
• Asbestos is not the only cause of this disease, but it is the most important cause in modern times.
• Crocidolite is the most important asbestos-related factor, but amosite, chrysotile and tremolite are also linked.
• This disease takes 20-50 years to appear, with the highest risk around 30-35 years after exposure.
• It is typically dose-related, but in rare cases has been known to occur in patients with little known occupational exposure to asbestos.
LUNG CANCER
• Lung cancer is relatively common among the general public and is the cancer most frequently associated with asbestos.
• Tumours grow and eventually obstruct airways.
• No characteristics specify a lung cancer as being caused by asbestos — we cannot distinguish a ‘cigarette’ lung cancer from an ‘asbestos’ lung cancer or ‘another’ lung
cancer.
• Smoking multiplies by 10 the risk of death due to lung cancer for asbestos workers.
• Asbestos-related diseases take time to develop. They usually emerge at least 10 years after exposure, and sometimes as long as 50 years later. Currently there are no
cures for these diseases.
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

6. What is the risk?
• Asbestos is only a health risk when extremely fine particles — known as respirable fibres — become airborne and are
inhaled. Respirable fibres are:
– less than 3 microns* in diameter and
– greater than 5 microns in length.
*(1 micron = 1/1000th of a millimetre)
• These small fibres cannot be seen with the naked eye. They can enter the deepest parts of the lungs where they may stay,
causing disease.
• The presence of asbestos materials in a building does not necessarily create a health risk. While the materials are
undisturbed and in sound condition, they will not generate airborne respirable fibres or create a health risk.
Risk factors
• The likelihood of any particular person developing an asbestos-related illness depends on a number of factors, including:
– length of time a person is exposed to airborne asbestos fibres
– concentration or levels of asbestos in the air breathed
– individual susceptibility
– size and type of asbestos fibres
– influence of other factors, especially cigarette smoke. (Research has shown that smoking significantly increases the
risk of lung cancer in people who have been exposed to asbestos.)
“One fibre can kill”
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

7. Where is asbestos found?
Simply it was such a commonly utilised material that it is found in many product and often in the following locations:
• Roofing
• Roof insulation
• Guttering
• Water proofing membranes
• Downpipes
• Eaves
• ceilings
• Mastic
• Insulation within air conditioning heater banks
• Insulation around hot water pipes
• Insulation on ceilings, around beams and columns
• Wall cladding (internal and external)
• Viny tiles
• Glues and adhesives
• Flooring (compressed board)
• Packers above piers in subfloors
• Fences
• Sheds and garages
• Debris and remnants of asbestos are often found on with ground and within the soil
• If you are unsure, treat it as containing asbestos
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

8. And sometimes in new areas – where you may least expect it!
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

9. Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing
yourself and those around you to asbestos.
• So what do I do?
– Check before you start renovating or demolishing if there is any asbestos present
– Ask some questions:
• When was the structure built – pre 1987?
• Is there any plant or equipment built prior to 2004?
• Does a Hazardous Materials Register exist? These generally list items such as
Synthetic Mineral Fibre (SMF), Lead Based Paint, PCB’s and Asbestos
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

10. • Do not attempt to remove asbestos with people around that are not suitably
involved with the removal. Especially keep children and pets away from work areas
• Seal up the work area to mitigate cross contamination
• Use the correct Personal Protective Equipment
• Use correct removal techniques
• Do not
– Use a domestic vacuum cleaner
– cut it
– drill it
– sand it
– scrape it
– scrub it
– waterblast it
– demolish it
– dump it
– put it on the street for Council Pickup
– place it in your domestic waste bin
but dispose of it correctly!
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

11. Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

12. Recommendation
Leave it to the experts:-
• Trained, experienced, licenced, insured
• Where can they be found? eg in NSW
www.arcansw.asn.au
www.workcover.nsw.gov.au
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos

13. QUESTIONS ?
Renovating or Demolishing?
Some guidance on how to mitigate exposing yourself and those around you to asbestos