Asbestos dumping is becoming a problem for Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs as residents are intentionally dumping the dangerous material in their front yards with the hope that it will be removed during rubbish collection.

However the waste management company who picks up the rubbish has spoken out saying they won’t be fooled into doing other people’s dirty work, if something contains asbestos they will not pick it up. While some residents are actually unsure that what they are putting out is asbestos, Michael Strickland, manager of the waste company believes many people are aware of what they are putting on their lawns.

In most circumstances in Victoria asbestos can only be removed by a licensed removalist, however a lack of awareness of the dangers of asbestos see many home renovators rip into the deadly material.

Exposure to asbestos even a small amount of asbestos can lead to a person contracting the cancer mesothelioma. Other asbestos conditions such as asbestosis and asbestos related pleural disease can occur following higher levels of asbestos exposure.

Therefore the dumping of asbestos by residents is extremely dangerous to the public and to those who have to remove it, and steps should be taken to prevent this from happening. Further, if residents dump asbestos and another person is exposed to that asbestos and develops an asbestos condition as a result of such exposure, an asbestos compensation claim may well be made.

A new government report which was released on the 17 August 2012 is calling on Australia to be asbestos free by the year 2030. This is hoped to be achieved by removing all construction materials which contain asbestos from both government and commercial buildings throughout Australia.

Bill Shorten the Minister of Workplace Relations who released the report has said that during the 20th century, Australia had one of the highest usage rates of asbestos. The consequences of this are still felt today as Australia now has one of the highest rates of asbestos related diseases in the world. Among these diseases caused by exposure to asbestos is the cancer mesothelioma. Regular asbestos compensation claims in Australia highlight just how much asbestos was used in this country in the past. Indeed asbestos compensation litigation in South Australia, asbestos compensation litigation in New South Wales and asbestos compensation litigation in Victoria are all assisted by specific state legislation to help victims pursue asbestos compensation in Australia.

Mr Shorten has confirmed that on average more than 650 Australians a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma and experts are sure that this figure will not decrease before 2022. Despite a nationwide ban on asbestos, the deadly material is still found in many older households and government buildings. Therefore asbestos diseases like mesothelioma still take the lives of many Australians.

The Australian Government will now consider the recommendations from the report put forward by the Asbestos Management Review panel and prepare a response. This report calls on the government to create a plan to effectively remove and mange asbestos in Australia with the goal of there being no asbestos by 2030.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have made the decision to monitor the recall of nearly 24,000 Great Wall and Chery cars which were found to have engines and exhaust gaskets containing asbestos.

However this recall does not require manufactures to replace all parts of the car that contain asbestos straight away. Customers may demand for this be done however if they do not, a warning sticker will be attached to the engine bay of the car at its next service.

The importation of all forms of asbestos is prohibited in Australia by the Customs Act and the supply, sale and use of any form of asbestos is also prohibited in all States and Territories in Australia. These laws prohibiting asbestos are in place as exposure to asbestos can cause serious health concerns including asbestosis and the cancer mesothelioma.

Despite these asbestos fears Delia Rickard deputy chairwoman of the ACCC has assured there are no health risks present to consumers during the normal use of their vehicle. However she does warn people that the engine and exhaust systems of these cars should only be worked on by qualified professionals. Despite the fact that there has been an importation ban on asbestos since 2004 in Australia, both consumers and automotive professionals must still be aware that these asbestos risks may still be present today.

Asbestos litigation in Australia has occurred in the past in respect to former mechanics and persons who worked with asbestos brake linings going on to develop asbestos conditions such as mesothelioma. Asbestos compensation claims in South Australia and other states have been pursued by such people.

The cleanup of the old NSW asbestos mine located at Barraba is set to commence in the second half of this year. Recently, a community meeting occurred in respect to the abandoned asbestos mine as to the proposed cleanup by the NSW government.

The asbestos taken from the Barraba mine was chrysotile, being white asbestos. In the past, there has been some suggestion by a minority of people that white asbestos did not produce mesothelioma. These days, however, it is beyond controversy that white asbestos can cause mesothelioma, although it has less carcinogenicity than blue asbestos and brown asbestos. The ABC News report on the asbestos cleanup quoted Dr Durrheim of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, who said there is no safe level of exposure to white asbestos.

There have been a number of asbestos compensation claims in Australia in which the Australia asbestos victim has alleged that their asbestos condition was caused purely as a result of exposure to white asbestos, for example in asbestos brake lining cases and asbestos vinyl tile cases.

It is hoped that the asbestos contamination of Barraba is cleaned up so as to prevent persons who live in and around Barraba from developing asbestos conditions such as pleural mesothelioma.