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Asbestos

Added: 17 September, 2009Download the PDF

What are the possible health effects of asbestos?


Asbestos can cause health effects if fibres are breathed into the lungs. Most fibres are removed from your lungs by your body’s natural defences (e.g. by being coughed up and then swallowed), however some fibres can remain in the lungs.


The possible health effects of asbestos are:

• Asbestosis (progressive and irreversible scarring of lung tissue that impairs breathing)
• Lung cancer
• Mesothelioma is a cancer of the linings around the lungs and abdomen
• Non-cancerous diseases that affect the linings around the lungs and abdomen (commonly called ‘benign pleural diseases’).

These diseases can sometimes take up to 50 years to develop. There may be some treatments for asbestos related diseases, but there are currently no known cures. Further general information on asbestos related diseases is available from the Queensland Health web site (www.health.qld.gov.au).

Where could i find asbestos?

Bonded materials containing asbestos were often used inside houses for wall sheeting, particularly in ‘wet’ areas such as the kitchen, bathroom and laundry (e.g. the glazed patterned panels around showers and baths that are held in with screws). They were also used as ceiling sheeting. Asbestos might also be found bonded in plaster patching compounds and textured paint. Loosely bound materials containing asbestos might be found in a few older forms of insulation used in domestic heaters and stoves. Asbestos-felt was used as a backing for many vinyl and linoleum sheet floorings and does not pose a health risk while it remains undisturbed. However, these materials become loose when the floor covering is damaged or removed.

Asbestos Removal

If you are planning to remove these materials and you are unsure if it is asbestos-free, consider leaving it alone, seeking advice from an asbestos consultant or getting it tested by a laboratory (Call 1300 138 366). Asbestos insulation was not routinely used in residential buildings, although there have been isolated cases in New South Wales and the ACT. Loosely-bound asbestos was generally used in commercial buildings and industrial workplaces.

Asbestos-felt vinyl flooring and other forms of loose asbestos must only be removed by an asbestos removal business that holds an ‘A’ Class certificate.