The Spotswood fire crew in Victoria will be moved to Newport due to asbestos being disturbed during renovations at the Spotswood fire station. Asbestos-based tiles were disturbed when old carpet was being pulled up as part of the improvements being worked on.
An officer from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade said he knew about these asbestos-based tiles at the station but assumed they were of no risk if undisturbed.
With the safety and health of both the community and MFB firefighters as their number one priority, the MFB has plans to have the situation resolved and have the Spotswood station back in action by next week.
Precautions such as the relocation of these firefighters is important when dealing with asbestos as exposure to asbestos poses serious risks to a person’s health.
A person can develop asbestos related condition from exposure to asbestos. Such conditions include asbestosis, asbestos related pleural disease and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a major problem for Australia in that it claims many lives each year and the number of people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma is only expected to grow. Thus precautions like that taken by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade in situations where there is a chance of asbestos exposure is critical in an attempt to reduce these health risks and the number of people affected by them.
Unfortunately, in the past firefighters have developed asbestos conditions, often following their service which involved attending fires at premises which contained asbestos products. Law claims for mesothelioma in Australia have been made by some of these firefighters.
