What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a mineral found in nature that is made up of millions of fibres. Despite being banned in 2003, thousands of buildings and machinery parts still contain asbestos. Breathing in asbestos fibres can cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral and can typically be found in rock, sediment, or soil. It has strong fibres that are heat-resistant and have good insulating properties. Because of these properties, asbestos was widely used in building products.
In some mining and exploration, site excavation, and road-building activities, asbestos such as amphiboles (tremolite and anthophyllite) may be present as geological contaminants.
Amphiboles are a group of minerals known for their needle-like crystals, often found in metamorphic and igneous rocks. Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks change due to intense heat and pressure within the Earth’s crust and indigenous rocks form from cooled and solidified magma or lava, either inside the Earth or on the surface.
If there is any asbestos in your workplace, you must manage the risks. This includes keeping an asbestos register and having an asbestos management plan.
To remove asbestos, you need special training and a licence. Any work that involves or is likely to involve the disturbance of asbestos is classed as high risk construction work. The interactive safe work method statement (SWMS) tool provides information on preparing, using, and reviewing SWMS for high-risk construction work.
What are the health risks of asbestos?
Exposure to airborne asbestos fibres can cause diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The risk depends on factors such as the concentration of respirable asbestos fibres inhaled, the frequency of exposure, fibre type and genetic factors.
Asbestos fibres become dangerous when they become airborne and can be breathed in, causing:
- asbestosis (scarring of lung tissue)
- mesothelioma (cancerous tumours that develop around the intestine or lungs)
- pleural plaques (thickening of membranes around the lungs)
- cancer of the lung, larynx and ovary.
Symptoms of asbestos-related diseases include breathing difficulties and scarring of the lung that can be detected by x-ray. Since asbestos diseases can take many years to become apparent, a registered medical practitioner (a doctor) should consider the date of exposure when ordering X-rays and using other diagnostic tools
Types of asbestos
Asbestos can be:
- Friable: Easily crushed into a powder. Friable asbestos has a higher risk of airborne fibres being released when handled.
- Non-friable (Bonded): Mixed with cement or resin to keep fibres in place. Non-friable asbestos poses a risk of releasing airborne fibres if the bonding agent is damaged such as by weathering due to the age of the material, fire or other means such as being cut by a power tool.
Training and licensing requirements are different for workers who handle each type of asbestos. Some non-friable asbestos is more likely to get brittle or break, such as fibre cement.
Where you might find asbestos and why is it dangerous?
Asbestos is often found in older buildings in materials such as fibrous cement sheeting, external cladding, roof insulation, vinyl tiles, flue pipes, drains, roofs, gutters, electrical insulation, switchboards, meters, and gaskets. You risk disturbing the asbestos when working with these materials during service, maintenance, refurbishment, and demolition work.
To check if a material contains asbestos, you can have a sample tested by a NATA accredited laboratory. Fees and analysis times may vary between laboratories.
Learn how to manage Manage naturally occurring asbestos and fibrous minerals in mining.
The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency (ASSEA) has more information on where you might find asbestos in the workplace, health risks and safety, and who to contact if it’s in your home or community.
Asbestos is banned
Asbestos has been used extensively throughout the construction industry in Western Australia, including on mine sites. Common examples are asbestos cement sheeting, and thermal and acoustic insulation.
The importation and use of asbestos in Australia was banned from 31 December 2003. All uses of asbestos are banned except for the following:
- genuine research or analysis
- sampling and identification in accordance with the Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WHS Regulations) and the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations (WHS Mines Regulations)
- maintenance or service work of non-friable asbestos installed before 31 December 2003
- removal or disposal of asbestos (including demolition) in accordance the WHS Regulations
- transport and disposal of asbestos or asbestos waste in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act 1986
- demonstrations, education or training in relation to asbestos
- display or preparation for display of an artifact or thing that contains asbestos
- management of asbestos in accordance with the WHS Regulations that was installed or fixed before 31 December 2003
- work that disturbs asbestos during mining operations involving the extraction of or exploration for a mineral other than asbestos. See Managing naturally occurring asbestos and fibrous minerals in mining.
- laundering of asbestos contaminated clothing in accordance with WHS Regulations.