The Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency is organising the inaugural
International Conference on Asbestos Awareness and Management in Melbourne.
Being held from 17 to 18 November, the international conference will
feature leading international and domestic experts in asbestos management,
health, advocacy and governance. The event will bring together government, business,
legal, medical, union and asbestos advocates to drive change to asbestos safety
and management practices.
ASEA chief executive officer Peter Tighe explained that recent
high-profile cases such as Mr Fluffy loose-fill insulation and the Wunderlich
factory in Melbourne have highlighted the ongoing health risks presented by asbestos.
According to Mr Tighe, Australia was, for decades among the highest per
capita users of asbestos in the world, with the carcinogenic fibre included in
hundreds of products, many of which can still be found in homes, workplaces and
utilities around the country. With asbestos related diseases on the rise in Australia,
resulting in the deaths of more than 1000 people each year, a major objective
of the conference is to work towards an asbestos-free Australia and eliminate asbestos
related diseases in the country.
Being held during National Asbestos Awareness Month, the conference will
also examine international efforts to ban asbestos, given that the substance is
still used in products manufactured by a number of Australia’s neighbours and
major trading partners.
Mr Tighe said the inaugural International Conference on Asbestos
Awareness and Management will bring together leading experts from around the
world so that they can learn from each other and develop a coordinated response
to asbestos that unites governments, businesses, unions, researchers and
advocacy representatives to address the deadly legacy of this fibre.
The International Conference on Asbestos Awareness and Management will
be held from Monday 17 November to Tuesday 18 November, 2014 at the Crown
Conference Centre, Southbank, Melbourne.
The program is available on
asbestossafetyconference2014.org.
