Occupational exposures

The manufacture and installation of asbestos containing building materials (ACM) inevitably results in exposure to asbestos for employees involved in the manufacture of ACMs and construction workers installing ACMs. The serious risk of asbestos related disease (ARD) for workers in these sectors is well recognised, having been established in numerous epidemiological studies.

Based on epidemiological and toxicological considerations, many bodies have concluded that all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic, without a documented threshold exposure free from the risk of disease.
It is sometimes claimed that the ACMs in good condition pose no measurable risk to health. However, the measurability or not of a risk gives no indication of the public health significance of the risk.

There is a very large population of people who live or work around ACMs and given the limited power of epidemiology to detect small increments in risk; a non-measurable risk to health may still have significance as a public health issue, particularly given ongoing deterioration of some ACMs such as external asbestos cement roofing and cladding.

Considering the availability of substitutes, substitution should always be considered the most appropriate control measure. Relatively effective engineering controls can be implemented in manufacturing workplaces. However, it is very difficult to implement effective engineering controls and/or use PPE while ACMs are installed during construction work. Even with control measures in place, workplaces with compliant airborne fibre levels (as measured by PCOM) can still have significant levels of asbestos fibres with dimensions capable of inducing ARD.

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Factsheet: Asbestos Exposure pathways and significance

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