Worry more about asbestos in home renovations than at construction sites, says WorkCover
WORKCOVER director Rob Walters says Tasmania leads the world in the handling of asbestos risks in the industry and construction sectors, and that Tasmanians should be more worried about asbestos risks with home renovations.
Launching October’s WorkSafe Tasmania month, Dr Walters said a series of activities aimed at helping bosses and employees avoid workplace hazards and stamp out bullying were also an ideal forum for raising asbestos-related concerns.
But he did not believe anything further needed to be done in the wake of asbestos concerns raised this week by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and Civil Contractors in relation to building waste, recycled as construction fill on other building sites.
“There’s already been enormous amount of work done in that particular area,” Dr Walters said.
“Within industry and construction there are very strong regulations in place.
“I think there is a bit of grandstanding going on at the moment, scaremongering, which I think is very unfortunate.
“The area that we need to start talking about asbestos is in home renovation. We need to be educating home renovators about the issues involved there.”
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union organiser Kevin Harkins said poor adherence to regulations had led to the asbestos problems identified this week.
“The standards applied in Tasmania are satisfactory if they are policed and adhered to,’’ Mr Harkins said.
Margaret Kent, a lawyer with more than 20 years of experience in asbestos litigation with Slater and Gordon, urged Tasmanian employers to be more vigilant.
“It beggars belief that builders and contractors are still being caught out by asbestos and that workers and the public are being put at risk of potential exposure,’’ Ms Kent said.
Meanwhile, Dr Walters said bullying would be a focus of WorkSafe Month.
“With one in four people suffering from depression in our lifetime, if that pops up when you’re working, it makes work so much more difficult,’’ he said.
“By having an empathetic employer saying are you okay to a worker and giving a little bit of slack, it can go a long way to avoid having time off work.”