An unacceptable number of licensed asbestos removalists and an assessor are still not adhering to safety regulations almost 20 years after the deadly building material was banned.
SafeWork SA’s latest Asbestos Activity Health and Safety Snapshot shows there were 5348 asbestos notifications received in 2022-23.
Two asbestos compliance campaigns run by SafeWork SA earlier this year found that a high number of duty holders involved in the management or control of buildings known to contain asbestos were not fulfilling their obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 (SA).
The Asbestos Management – Demolition or Refurbishment Proactive Compliance Campaign 2023 included visits by SafeWork SA inspectors to 42 licensed asbestos removal sites where they performed 95 compliance audits across multiple duty holders.
A total of 30 Statutory Notices were issued, consisting of 12 Prohibition Notices and 18 Improvement Notices.
Letters of warning and reminders of legal obligations were issued to 13 licensed asbestos removalists who had a history of failing to comply with their obligations.
As a result of the campaign, SafeWork SA:
* Immediately suspended, and subsequently cancelled an asbestos assessor for 5 years for failing to set up adequate air monitoring and for failing to undertake an adequate and effective clearance inspection following licensed asbestos removal. The asbestos assessor had been previously suspended for three months in 2021 for similar breaches.
* Immediately suspended, and subsequently cancelled a licensed asbestos removalist for one year for a history of failing to remove asbestos safely and competently, and commencing demolition without identifying and removing the asbestos.
*Immediately suspended, and subsequently cancelled a licensed asbestos removalist for one year for failing to remove asbestos safely and competently and having a history of failing to remove asbestos safely and competently; placing their workers at risk. The licensed asbestos removalist had been previously suspended for three months in 2022 for commencing demolition without identifying and removing the asbestos.
*Suspended a licensed asbestos removalist for one year for failing to remove asbestos safely and competently and having a history of failing to remove asbestos safely and competently; placing their workers at risk.
*Refused to grant the renewal of an asbestos removal licence due to a history of failing to remove asbestos safely and competently, placing their workers at risk.
A second campaign, focusing on Asbestos Management, audited 70 workplaces and identified that 61 per cent of the sites were not managing asbestos in accordance with the regulations compared to 58 per cent during the 2022 campaign.
SafeWork SA Inspectors issued 51 Statutory Notices in response to non-compliances identified.
The most common areas of non-compliance related to a failure to:
*have an asbestos register (34)
* review an asbestos register (7)
* review an asbestos management plan (5)
*develop an asbestos management plan after identifying asbestos (2)
An estimated 4,000 Australians die annually from asbestos-related diseases. This is more than triple the number of annual Australian road deaths.
Many public and commercial buildings, and infrastructure contain large amounts of ageing asbestos-containing materials, including one in three Australian homes.
Asbestos has been completely banned in Australia since December 2003.
While two decades have passed since the ban, a significant amount of ageing asbestos-containing material remains in our built environment, which means there is an ongoing need for vigilance to prevent exposure to asbestos fibres and a need to focus on safe, proactive removal.
As put by Kyam Maher
Twenty years on from the banning of asbestos in Australia and the danger is as real as ever.
Australia still has one of the highest death rates of asbestos-related diseases per capita in the world.
As we remember those who have lost their lives to asbestos this week, it is also a timely reminder to remain vigilant when working with or near asbestos.
Last year, we delivered on our election commitment to provide $400,000 of additional funding over four years to Asbestos Victims Association of SA and Asbestos Diseases Society of SA for advocacy and education programs, an important step in supporting the victims of asbestos diseases.
As put by SafeWork SA Executive Director Glenn Farrell
SafeWork SA plays a crucial role in contributing towards a state free of asbestos-related diseases.
Laws are in place to protect the long-term future health of South Australians and we will continue to take action against those who do not abide by those laws.
Regulators, government departments, industry, workers, organisations and the community at large will all need to work together to make the state safe from asbestos.
