When asbestos fibres are safely secured in a well-maintained non-friable product, their potential to impact on the health of you and your family is all but removed. Once broken, degraded, or intentionally disturbed as part of a renovation, there is the opportunity for asbestos fibres to escape their encasing and be released into the air. Once this happens they can be inhaled, and this is when you are at risk of developing an asbestos-related disease.
If an asbestos fibre becomes embedded in your lungs, it can take decades for it to develop into an asbestos-related disease. Theses diseases include, but are not limited to:
- Asbestosis
- Lung Cancer
- Mesothelioma
- Pleural disease.
Council Officers are not health experts, so for more specific information about the potential health risks associated with exposure to asbestos fibres, have a look at the information on offer from the following great organisations:
Mesothelioma
Lung Foundation of Australia
Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia
Bernie Banton Foundation
For additional support, your GP and their practice staff will be able to assist you with information regarding the risks to your health in relation to asbestos exposure.