New plan for Asbestos Safety

The Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency (ASEA) has this week launched the National Strategic Plan for Asbestos Awareness and Management

The Plan identifies eight National Targets (and sets out ASEA’s planned methodology for achieving these targets), paraphrased for simplicity below:

• Increase awareness of the health risks of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) (with varying goals of increased awareness for different ‘at risk’ groups.
• Ensure all governments have identified and risk assessed all publicly owned buildings, land and infrastructure.
• Establish jurisdictional schedules to ensure processes for prioritisation of safe removal and disposal from public areas.
• All regulators establish asbestos compliance programs.
• Ensure all buildings that are legally required to maintain an ACM register are up-to-date with this obligation.
• Ensure regulators are investigating and (where appropriate) prosecuting breaches of asbestos related laws (including illegal disposal and importation).
• Easier and cheaper disposal of asbestos waste.
• Lobby harder for bans on production of asbestos internationally;
• Develop an evidence-based national understanding of the risks of ACMs in the residential sector.

Master Builders supports the work of ASEA in improving public and worker safety outcomes relating to ACM exposure, and welcomes the National Strategic Plan for its measured approach to responding to these risks. 

A copy of the report is located here . We will continue to advise members on our engagement with ASEA as we look toward 2020, and will advise of further developments as ASEA looks to implementing their strategic plan.