Doctors brace for 40 years of asbestos illness
Asbestos study findings: DIY home renovators and their families are regularly exposing themselves to asbestos.
Do-it-yourself home renovators are regularly exposing themselves and their children to cancer-causing asbestos, a study of NSW residents has found.
Experts say the disturbing findings show that, despite repeated warnings, Australians are still not protecting themselves from asbestos-related diseases.
“It’s a horrible disease but it’s completely preventable.”
The study of almost 860 people who recently completed a do-it-yourself renovation found more than 61 per cent said they had been exposed to asbestos. More than one in five said their children had been exposed.
Co-author Anthony Johnson said the more people were exposed to asbestos, the more likely they were to develop conditions such as the deadly cancer mesothelioma.
”There is no safe level of exposure,” said Dr Johnson, a respiratory physician from the Liverpool area. ”We don’t want to scare people, because the overall health risks are low, but we do see people who have mesothelioma and the only exposure they can recall is something like this.”
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