Our asbestos and silica awareness and safety training provides you with the knowledge and skills to identify asbestos and silica-containing materials, deal with them, and adopt safe practices.
“The asbestos & silica awareness course completely changed the way I identify hazards in my workplace"
Then you are likely to come into contact with legacy asbestos products. Likewise, building materials that contain silica are also common, making your chances of exposure highly probable.
Common building and industrial products that contain these hazardous materials present significant health risks to trade and industry workers. Therefore, it is vital for the health and safety of you, your employees and your coworkers that you can clearly identify and deal with these products safely and responsibly.
In the past, most asbestos and silica safety training was conducted either onsite at active sites or performed in a training facility, taking up work and travel time and disrupting productivity for trade and industrial work teams.
Our asbestos and silica awareness and safety training provides you with the knowledge to identify potential asbestos and silica-containing materials, how to avoid disturbing them, and adopt safe work practices.
Our 100%-online course is available now. Upon completion, your certificate is emailed directly to you! Read on to learn more about our affordable, online Asbestos and Silica awareness training.
Our comprehensive and easy to follow Asbestos awareness course is divided into three online modules, presented in an engaging format, with a range of multi-choice assessments at the end of each module, ensuring you have a satisfactory understanding of the course content.
This introductory section of the course covers all topics relating to asbestos and how it affects your health.
In this module, you will cover topics such as:
By the end of this module, you will understand why having an educated awareness of asbestos is vital when working in trades or industrial industries.
Because of the highly hazardous nature of asbestos exposure, there are many complex legal parameters surrounding its discovery, identification, and disposal. This module will look at all the legal parameters surrounding asbestos include, but are not limited to:
By the end of this module, you will have a comprehensive understanding of all legal obligations and specifications surrounding asbestos in Australia and be competent in identifying workers, employers, and property owners' rights and responsibilities regarding asbestos.
The third module will teach you everything you need to know about dealing with asbestos, asbestos discovery, identification, removal, disposal, and safety practices. The content of this comprehensive module includes critical information, including:
By the end of this third and final module, you will have a comprehensive understanding of all vital aspects of asbestos OH&S, the procedures for dealing with asbestos, and how to best protect yourself, your coworkers and your staff in high industry risk of asbestos exposure.
This course is designed for all people who may encounter asbestos or materials containing asbestos in any industry or workplace.
However, there are industries in Australia with higher risks of asbestos exposure, including:
If you work in any of the above industries, we highly recommend investing in our affordable and 100% online asbestos awareness course.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate. There are six main types of asbestos, all composed of long, thin, fibrous crystals. Each fibre is composed of microscopic 'fibrils' that are easily dispersed into the atmosphere by abrasion, breakage, or other processes.
It was used extensively in building, industrial sectors, and automotive products due to its unique qualities and cost-effectiveness.
Some of the main reasons asbestos was used in such a wide variety of industries include:
While this product seemed like a miracle material, it has become one of the most dangerous substances used since industrialisation, with an estimated 4000 Australians dying from asbestos-related illnesses and climbing.
By the end of the 1990s, we had minimised asbestos use, and disposal measures were in place; however, the total ban on asbestos use in Australia began on the 31st of December 2003.
Since this date, asbestos has been illegal to:
Previous asbestos manufacturers and other companies that utilised asbestos have been subject to historic legal action to compensate those exposed who have suffered from adverse health conditions, many of which can be fatal.
Being Australia was one of the world's biggest importers and users of asbestos between the 1960s and 1990s, undiscovered asbestos products will likely continue to be discovered for decades to come.
The fine, microscopic fibres in asbestos can become airborne and easily inhaled into the lungs at the slightest disturbance. As a result, these fibres get trapped in the lungs creating ongoing damage, including scar tissue.
Asbestos exposure has been linked to a wide range of adverse and potentially fatal health conditions, including:
Your chances of contracting these diseases from asbestos increase with higher exposure rates, especially in smokers. There are no known safe levels of asbestos exposure. Approximately 700 Australians died from mesothelioma from asbestos exposure in 2018 alone, with numbers expecting to rise over the next few decades.
Asbestos occurs naturally on every continent on Earth, and archeologists have uncovered domestically used asbestos fibres dating back to the stone age some 750,000 years ago. Industrial asbestos mines opened in Canada, South Africa, America, Italy, and Russia in the early 1880s, and the industrial age of asbestos was born.
Concerns were raised about the harmful and potentially fatal effects of exposure to Asbestos dust in a British Royal Commission in the early 1900s; however, the product continued to be used under more stringent safety and ventilation practices in the following decades.
In 1911, a Royal Commission confirmed the first asbestos-related deaths in Australian gold mine workers. This prompted further safety measures to minimise potential exposure, and by 1927, the term 'asbestosis' was used to describe adverse health conditions relating to asbestos exposure.
Despite health concerns, asbestos products, like weatherboard, were used heavily in Australian residential and industrial construction between the 1920s to the 1990s. However, asbestos use was curbed from 1980 until its subsequent ban.
During its peak, Australia was one of the biggest importers and users of asbestos, with it being used in millions of Australian houses and over 3000-products, including:
Asbestos can only be removed in Australia by licenced and accredited asbestos removalists.
Our asbestos and silica awareness and safety training provides you with the knowledge and skills to identify asbestos and silica-containing materials, deal with them, and adopt safe practices.
Silica, like asbestos, can have a devastating effect on human health if inhaled into the lungs. However, silica is a natural compound and can be found in many natural building products used every day.
Some common industrial and construction products that contain silica include, but are not limited to:
Harmful silica compounds can become airborne when cut, drilled, polished, sawn, or ground.
Our Silica Awareness course is entirely online.
In this course, you will learn and develop knowledge on:
By the end of this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of what silica is, where it comes from, who is at risk, and how to protect yourself, your staff and your co-workers from silica exposure.
Although anyone who works with natural products where silica exposure may be a risk, some industries do present a higher exposure risk, including:
We highly recommend undertaking this online course if you work in any of the above industries or industries adjacent to them. There has been a significant rise in silicosis cases in Australia, especially in the engineered stone benchtop industry.
Unlike asbestos, there are safe ways to handle silica, and it is critical that Australians working in industries with a high chance of silica exposure gain education on the risks and safety measures associated with this harmful byproduct.
Silica's full name is silicon dioxide, a naturally occurring compound. There are two main silica types: non-crystalline and crystalline silicon dioxide, with the most common type being crystalline quartz (CAS 14808-60-7).
Silica dust is fine and sharp, and these compounds can get caught deep in the lungs and other parts of the body.
Silica particles get trapped in the lungs when silica dust is inhaled. Over time, these particles cause lung inflammation that forms nodules and scar tissue in the lung, known as pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive disease that can take 10-30-years to show symptoms.
Like asbestos, people who smoke with silicosis are more likely to develop adverse health conditions and earlier symptoms after exposure.
Silicosis can also create other health complications, including:
Although treatment and management of silicosis are available, there is no cure. Therefore, the best defence against silicosis is protection and prevention.
Asbestos and Silica Awareness is dedicated to offering affordable and accessible, industry-leading online safety training for all industries, including asbestos and silica awareness training.
Some of the main benefits of choosing to use Asbestos and Silica Awareness as your training facilitator include:
Whether you are looking to study as an individual or arrange training for a whole team, packages of two or more courses can be tailored to your requirements.
Our courses are designed for all types of industries, and professionals at all levels, including:
Ensure you have the knowledge and skills to remain safe at work by enlisting in an online asbestos and silica awareness and safety course today.
We are passionate about providing engaging and informative course formats that ensure Australian industries place the health and safety of Australian workers at the forefront of their policies and continue to develop safer working environments and practices across all sectors.
Our course development experts are constantly striving to remain at the forefront of occupational health and safety training in Australia. They are continually working to improve our range of training modules.
Great courses very insightful easy to understand would highly recommend!!!!
Very easy to follow and information explained well
Our asbestos and silica awareness and safety training provide you with the knowledge and skills to identify asbestos and silica-containing materials, deal with them, and adopt safe practices. Register online and begin your training today!