Health and safety training increases awareness of asbestos risks, says report

Safe Work Australia Chair, Tom Phillips, AM, recently announced the release of the Asbestos Exposure and Compliance Study of Construction and Maintenance Workers: Follow-up Report.

In 2009, Safe Work Australia commissioned the Asbestos Exposure and Compliance Study of Construction and Maintenance Workers. The report findings were published in February 2010 and focused on four trades: electricians, carpenters, plumbers and painters.

This follow-up report reviews the literature on worker safety behaviour and the factors that influence workers’ understanding of the health risks of exposure to asbestos.

The report also examines the factors that influence compliance with safe work practices when working with asbestos. Key findings include:

• A person’s age and whether they work alone or with others did not predict a better understanding of the risks of exposure to asbestos;
• Carpenters were more likely to report an understanding of the risks of asbestos compared to painters;
• Workers who had completed specific asbestos work health and safety training were more likely to report an understanding of the risks of exposure to asbestos compared to those without asbestos work health and safety training;
• Workers who reported receiving information on risks of exposure to asbestos from trade training, trade associations or trade unions were more likely to report having a greater understanding of the risks compared to workers receiving information from media channels; and
• Workers were more likely to follow safe work practices if they considered exposure to asbestos to be a risk to their health.

Phillips said the report identified some factors that are important for workers’ knowledge about asbestos and factors that may predict compliance with safe work practices: “This report provides reliable information that can influence the safety behaviour of workers; however, further research is needed to identify additional behavioural factors that may affect the safety of workers.

“It is vital for the safety of all Australians to ensure access to the most current and reliable information to protect workers from exposure to workplace hazards including asbestos.”