Online Asbestos Awareness Course

Asbestos and Silica Awareness are dedicated to providing Australians with knowledge, skills, and tools to keep them and their co-workers safe from asbestos exposure.

In the past, individuals and companies looking to undertake or provide an asbestos course had to arrange the training to be facilitated at a company office, onsite, or at a designated training facility.

Onsite or facility training could derail productivity for businesses, cut into workers' personal time, and create circumstances where it was challenging to arrange group training with all staff.

Our asbestos specialists at Asbestos and Silica Awareness have created a fully online, and on-demand asbestos awareness course that can be completed in an individual's own time, either over a few hours or spread out over more time.

Once you have completed all modules and paid for the course, your certificate will be emailed directly to your inbox. An e-card will be sent to your phone for certificate verification.

The importance of asbestos awareness training

The amount of asbestos still undiscovered in Australia is staggering, and the clean up looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. Everyone can unknowingly come into contact with asbestos; however, there are jobs, trades, industries and properties where potential asbestos exposure is high.

Our online asbestos awareness course is designed for all people who may encounter asbestos or materials containing asbestos in any industry, workplace or property.

However, the trades and industries in Australia with a higher risk of asbestos exposure include, but are not limited to:

• Manufacturing industries
• Factory workers
• Shipbuilding and repair industries
• Power generation trades and workers
• Chemical industries
• Firefighters and emergency response workers
• Asphalt workers
• Construction trades
• Domestic trades
• All mining industries

Whether you work in one of the trades or jobs listed, work adjacent to these trades, or work in a facility known to have asbestos still present, you may benefit from this affordable online asbestos course, increasing you, your coworkers and your family's safety.

Before asbestos's decline in use in the 1980s and its total ban in 2003, Australia was one of the biggest importers of asbestos and asbestos products globally, using it extensively throughout residential, commercial and industrial property construction, and an estimated 3000 products in various industries.

Due to the extensive use of asbestos in Australia, it will be decades before we see this harmful substance eradicated from old buildings, legacy structures and industrial waste.

Asbestos is highly toxic to humans, especially when its particles are inhaled. Therefore, it is vital for people who work in industries with a high risk of asbestos exposure to be educated in the identification, containment, disposal and legal obligations surrounding asbestos. Please note, payment will be prior to the commencement of the course.

Asbestos is a natural fibrous silicate mineral that is mined from the earth. There are six sub-categories of asbestos, which all feature long, thin, fibrous crystals called "fibrils".

WHS regulations in Australia define asbestos compounds as:

1. Actinolite
2. Grunerite or amosite (brown asbestos)
3. Anthophyllite
4. Chrysotile (white asbestos)
5. Crocidolite (blue asbestos)
6. Tremolite

There are also circumstances where there is a mixture of these sub-variants in one location or deposit.

This fibrous material had many advantages for industrial applications, including:

• Lightweight
• High tensile strength
• Heat resistance
• Fire retardant
• Sound insulative
• Temperature insulative and more

Some common asbestos-containing products, known as ACPs, that were used in Australia before its ban include:

• Flat and corrugated sheeting
• Weatherboard panels (also known as Hardy board)
• Cement pipes
• Insulation
• Floor and wall tiles
• Adhesives
• Machine parts
• Roofing
• Automobile parts, such as brake pads
• Textiles
• Textured paints and more

This natural fibre was not unique to the industrial age, with archaeological evidence of asbestos fibres being used in pottery dating back to the stone age dating back to approximately 4,000BCE.

The modern world's biggest miners and producers of asbestos compounds include:

• Russia
• Kazakhstan
• China
• Brazil
• Zimbabwe
• Canada

Between the 1930s and 1960s, crocidolite, commonly known as blue asbestos, one of the most toxic types, was mined in the Western Australia town of Wittenoom in Western Australia; these mines were shut down in 1966 after many workers and families were negatively affected by asbestos exposure.

Asbestos fibrils can become airborne when disturbed, by breakage, cutting, grinding, or crushing. These asbestos particles can be easily inhaled into the lungs, mouth, nose, throat and stomach.

The most hazardous type of asbestos, referred to as "friable" asbestos, is considered the most dangerous; friable meaning when it is in a dry, crumbled, pulverised or powdered state. Asbestos is highly toxic to human beings and has been linked to various life-altering or fatal health conditions.

Asbestos in Australia

Australia has a long and complicated history of asbestos use and, at one point, was the biggest importer of Asbestos and asbestos products in the world. Asbestos variants were used extensively in residential, commercial and industrial buildings between the 1920s to 1940s, with continued use in various forms up until the 1990s.

By the 1980s, it was apparent and publically known that asbestos was a highly toxic material and was unsafe for human use, which began the phasing out of asbestos mining and the imports of asbestos-containing products.

In a historic 2003 action by the Australian Government, asbestos was banned entirely in Australia, making it an illegal product.

As of the 31st of December 2003, it is illegal to:

• Use
• Re-use
• Manufacture
• Import
• Transport
• Store
• Sell asbestos products

Over the past several decades, there have been many heavily publicised class action cases against major corporate entities that subjected workers and members of the public to asbestos exposure, and compensation claims are expected to continue in the future.

Asbestos removal and disposal in Australia

Unlicenced asbestos removal is permitted in certain circumstances, although it is not recommended by asbestos experts, even if you have asbestos awareness accreditation.

The safest way to remove and dispose of asbestos after it has been identified is to contact a licenced asbestos removal professional with the correct equipment, tools, PPE apparatus and disposal facilities.

Current asbestos removal laws fall under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations act 2017, and all removal and disposal protocols are governed by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

Asbestos dangers

The microscopic fibrils in asbestos can become airborne at the slightest disturbance, making their way into the human nose, mouth, throat, stomach and lungs. There are no safe levels of asbestos exposure for humans in any part of the body; however, the lungs are where asbestos does the most damage.

These microscopic asbestos fibres create irritation, inflammation and scarring of lung tissues, which slowly accumulate, causing thickening and stiffening of the lungs; there is no known cure for asbestosis.

Asbestos is a carcinogen responsible for a range of cancers, including mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lung lining known as pleura. Mesothelioma is almost exclusive to asbestos exposure.

There is also a condition called peritoneal mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the abdomen and often spreads to other organs.

A summary of the life-altering and potentially fatal health conditions directly linked to asbestos exposure include:

• Lung cancer
• Asbestosis
• Mesothelioma (cancer of the lungs lining)
• Peritoneal mesothelioma
• Ovarian cancer
• Cancer of the larynx
• Cancer of the gastrointestinal tract and more

The chance of catching asbestos-related diseases is often more aggressive and has an earlier onset in people who smoke.

It is estimated that over 4000 Australians have died from asbestos-related illnesses, with approximately 700 dying from mesothelioma linked to asbestos exposure in 2018 alone. Unfortunately, these numbers continue to rise.