Page 1155 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 25 March 2015
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(a) its management strategy for Housing ACT dwellings containing asbestos, including Mr Fluffy;
(b) the number of Housing ACT dwellings containing asbestos;
(c) whether the Housing ACT dwellings being sold as part of the ACT Government’s asset recycling program contain asbestos;
(d) whether tenants of Housing ACT dwellings containing asbestos have been notified that they are living in a dwelling containing asbestos; and
(e) the health risks to tenants of Housing ACT dwellings containing asbestos.
It is well known to us now that living in a property containing asbestos poses a risk to a person’s health when the asbestos fibres are breathed in. The commonwealth Department of Health published a guide about asbestos for householders and the general public in February 2013. According to this guide, when asbestos material is damaged, crumbling or is disturbed by breaking, cutting, drilling or sanding, asbestos fibres are released into the air. When asbestos fibres are breathed in, they may remain deep within the lungs. This can lead to a person suffering from one or more of the four major asbestos-related diseases: pleural plaques, asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
It is not only residents of homes and workers in buildings containing asbestos whose health is put at risk by exposure to asbestos; the health of tradespeople and visitors to properties containing asbestos is also at risk. The Bernie Banton Foundation, for example, provides awareness about asbestos. Bernie Banton worked at the James Hardie Bradford Insulation factory, which manufactured asbestos lagging for power stations. He worked there from 1968 to 1974 and was diagnosed with asbestosis in early 1999. His story has highlighted for many of us the awful consequences of exposure to asbestos.
The year in which a property was built can often be used as a guide to whether it is likely to contain asbestos. There are many Housing ACT dwellings that were built before 1990 and, indeed, before the 1980s. The Department of Health’s guide about asbestos states that, as a general rule, if a property was built, firstly, before the mid-1980s, it is highly likely to contain asbestos products; secondly, between the 80s and 1990 it is likely to contain asbestos products; and, thirdly, after 1990 it is unlikely to contain asbestos products.
Using this general rule, a number of Housing ACT dwellings, in particular those dwellings built before 1990, are either highly likely or likely to contain asbestos products.
In response to a recent question on notice, the Minister for Housing provided me with information containing money spent by Spotless to remove asbestos. Between 2009 and 2014 inclusive, Housing ACT’s contracted total facilities manager, Spotless, spent $800,567 on asbestos removal. This is a significant amount of money. It led me to ask the question: what is the ACT government’s management strategy for Housing ACT dwellings containing asbestos, including but absolutely not limited to Mr Fluffy?
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