In an ironic twist, it seems that health-conscious Australians may be at increased risk of asbestos exposure than their unfit counterparts.

A UK university has revealed that some nanofibres that are used to make gym equipment are similar in shape to asbestos fibres, which if inhaled can cause asbestos related diseases such as asbestosis and pleural mesothelioma.

Scientists have conducted tests, injecting various nanofibres into the lungs of mice. While they found that the longer fibres became stuck in the lungs resulting in inflammation, further testing is required to determine whether the nanofibres are dangerous to humans and whether they can have a similar effect to asbestos.

Before the use of asbestos was banned in Australia, Australia had one of the highest users of asbestos per capita in the world. Hundreds of cases of mesothelioma occur in Australia each year. Specific legislation has been implemented in numerous Australian states, including New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, to assist those suffering asbestos conditions to pursue an asbestos compensation claim in Australia or mesothelioma compensation claim in Australia.

A vital aspect of Australia’s plan to become asbestos free by the year 2030 is the inspection of homes, schools and all public buildings in order to identify any presence of asbestos. The discovery of asbestos will allow for the appropriate action to be taken to dispose such dangerous material.

Asbestos is an extremely dangerous material and when inhaled it may cause very serious diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. Therefore the need for asbestos inspection audits is vital to ensure the safety of all people who come in contact with buildings that are contaminated. The identification of asbestos contributes to the quick and effective removal of the material and will thus reduce the number of people suffering from the cancer mesothelioma, the incidence of which is expected to rise in Australia.

Surviving New Yorkers have finally won an eleven-year battle with the federal government following a ruling to cover a range of cancers, including mesothelioma, under a compensation Act designed for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

When the twin towers collapsed after two planes were hijacked and flown into them, a giant toxic cloud of dust was released into the air and covered parts of Manhattan for weeks. The dust contained chemicals such as lead and asbestos, the known carcinogen that causes asbestos related diseases such as asbestosis, asbestos related pleural disease, pleural plaques, pleural thickening, asbestos pleuritis and the cancer mesothelioma.

As a result, many workers at ground zero and also local residents were exposed to the asbestos dust, with 20,000 residents currently receiving medical treatment and 40,000 being monitored by medical authorities for resulting conditions such as mesothelioma.

The new regime, announced a day before the 11th anniversary of the attacks, will recognize the cancer mesothelioma and approximately 50 other cancers as being eligible for compensation from a $2.8 billion fund that was approved in 2010.

However, the ruling is only bittersweet, as because of the long latency period between exposure to asbestos and the development of an asbestos related disease such as mesothelioma, the compensation fund may run out before many mesothelioma compensation claims are filed. Australia knows only too well the pain of New Yorkers who have been exposed to asbestos given so many Australians have suffered asbestos conditions such as mesothelioma.

1,200 guests will attend the 4th Biaggio Signorelli Foundation Gala Dinner this evening, Wednesday 26 September 2012, at Darling Island Wharf Pyrmont in Sydney. The Gala dinner is hosted by Sydney’s award winning Doltone House to raise funds and awareness for the asbestos cancer of mesothelioma.

The Biaggio Signorelli foundation’s main aims are to raise awareness, early detection, treatment and a cure for the deadly cancer of mesothelioma which is caused by exposure to asbestos. The foundation was foundered by the Signorelli family to honour their father, the founder of the Doltone House Group, who sadly passed away in May 2008 from mesothelioma.

The foundation has been hugely successful by raising almost $1m and also providing funding of $300,000 to three different research fellowships over three years. One of the research fellowships funded was one that took place at the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute in Concord, Sydney. To add to these key achievements, the foundation also donated $125,000 to go towards the development of the National Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Mesothelioma.

Support like that provided by the Biaggio Signorelli Foundation to help win the fight against mesothelioma in Australia is extremely necessary and important. In 2010 mesothelioma claimed the lives of 642 people and the number of deaths caused by this fatal cancer is expected to rise. Thus a lot of help is needed in Australia’s attempt to put an end to the heartbreaking disease of mesothelioma.