National Asbestos Awareness Week Starts Monday 22 Nov

22 November 2004

ACTU President Sharan Burrow said:

"The ACTU believes more can be done to raise awareness about the dangers of handling and disposing asbestos products and to protect the community from exposure to asbestos.

Asbestos is a deadly product that riddles many of Australia's older buildings.

Residential homes built in the 1970s or before and many older workplaces are especially affected.

Despite recent media attention on the attempts by the James Hardie company to avoid fully compensating victims of its deadly asbestos products there is still a poor level of awareness of the dangers of asbestos in the broader Australian public.

Australia has the highest per capita incidence of mesothelioma (a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos) in the world with more than 500 people a year contracting the disease.

Mesothelioma causes extreme pain and breathlessness as the tumour crushes the lung. There are no cures and it is inevitably fatal within about 12 months of diagnosis.

For each diagnosed case of mesothelioma, research shows there are two additional cases of asbestos-related lung cancer and non-malignant asbestos-related disease.

The ACTU believes all levels of government should work with unions and asbestos victims groups to protect the community and workers from potential future exposure to asbestos."

Media Contact: Susannah Greenleaf 0418 479 455

National Asbestos Awareness Week
Monday 22 Nov - Sunday 28 Nov
National Asbestos Awareness Day
Friday 26 November 2004

NSW

Launch of Asbestos Awareness Week

10 am Monday 22 November

Darling Harbour (near Entertainment Centre)

John Della Bosca, NSW Minister for Workplace Relations
Ella Sweeney, Asbestos Diseases Foundation Ph: 02 9637 8759

National Asbestos Awareness Day

Friday 26^th November - 10am -3pm

Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour

Opened by Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, Governor of NSW

Media Contacts NSW

Australian Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia (based in NSW)
Phone: 1800 006 196 - Ph: 02 9637 8759
AMWU NSW - Paul Bastion ph 02 9897 2011
CFMEU - Lindsay Fraser Mob: 0419 493 290

Victoria

Inter-faith Commemoration

Friday 26^th November - 12:30pm - 1:15pm

Officiated by Bishop Philip Huggins

The Edge Theatre, Federation Square

Media Contacts VIC

Jane Staley, Asbestos Diseases Society of Victoria - Ph: 03 9639 4451
Victorian Trades Hall Council, Andrea Maksimovic Phone : 61 3 9659 3552

Gippsland

11am, Friday 26^th Nov

Asbestos Awareness Day Commemorative Service & picnic in the park after, Rose Garden, Morwell. With Peter McGauran (Federal Member) and Brendan Jenkins (State Member)

Contact: Vicki Hamilton, Gippsland Asbestos Related Diseases Support - ph 0407 274 173