Asbestos Awareness Week 2010 Monday 22 November – Friday 26 November Asbestos Awareness Week is an opportunity to focus on the ongoing problems associated with asbestos in our workplaces, homes and communities.  It is also a time to focus on the gains and steps that have been made and taken in the last year. Australia continues to hold the shameful tag of the country with the highest per capita rate of mesothelioma (a fatal disease, for which the only known cause is inhalation of asbestos fibres). Against this backdrop, the trade union movement has been very pleased to greet the National Review into the Management of Asbestos,  announced by the federal government at the end of October.   The Review will encompass public awareness, asbestos removal and disposal, mandatory reporting and data collection, import controls and other related matters. The Federal Government also intends to ratify several International Labour Organisation treaties. The union movement, support groups and others have been calling for concerted government action on asbestos for several years.  We look forward to participating in the review. During Asbestos Awareness Week 2010 unions, support groups and others are organising a range of activities and events.  Some unions also have resources for use in workplaces.  Contact your union in your state. Events SA Unions and  Unions NSW Queensland Asbestos Related Disease Support Society Queensland Council of Trade Unions Victorian Trades Hall Council News Update 1 (22.11.10)