Businesses conducting asbestos-related work, including asbestos removal, must ensure periodic health monitoring is provided to workers. Mesothelioma, along with Asbestosis, Lung Cancer and Plural Plaque, are diseases that arise from exposure to air-born asbestos fibre.
KINNECT are able to conduct Asbestos Health Surveillance Medicals nationally.
Our health surveillance and periodic medical services combine years of experience with systems and procedures that will support the effective monitoring and recording of your organisation’s occupational injuries, illnesses and related hazards / exposures, to identify health risks.
If a significant health risk or concern is detected while performing an Asbestos Medical, KINNECT can educate your organisation or implement tailored programs to appropriately manage the identified risk and improve the overall health of your employees.
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Legislative Requirements
Asbestos Monitoring medicals should be conducted before the worker begins working with Asbestos. If your employees have not undertaken this initial monitoring, it is important that it is conducted as soon as possible.
After the initial monitoring has taken place, monitoring should be subsequently carried out on an annual basis. It is also a requirement that workers undergo an exit medical when they finish working in this environment.
Health monitoring records are kept for 40 years.
Medical Requirements
Asbestos health monitoring must be completed under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner. During Asbestos Medicals, the following information is collected:
- The worker’s demographic, medical and occupational history;
- Medical records documenting any history of prior exposure to chemicals requiring health monitoring;
- Results of a physical examination on the worker – with particular focus on the respiratory system;
- Spirometry (lung function) test;
- Chest X-Ray (if clinically indicated);
- Doctor review and sign off.
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Our team of Occupational Physicians and Occupational Health Doctors to help you manage your Health Surveillance program.
FAQ
What is Asbestos?
- Asbestos is a mineral found in nature that is made up of millions of fibres. Until the mid to late 1980s, asbestos was included in building materials because it’s resistant to heat and corrosion. Asbestos was also included in plant and equipment manufactured and imported up to 2003. Asbestos is still commonly used in some countries.
- Asbestos is fire resistant, strong under tension and possesses properties that make it resistant to chemicals and a good electrical insulator. Â Because of these characteristics, it has many commercial uses, ranging from clothing to sound-proofing.
- The 6 types of raw asbestos mineral that have been mined in the past are chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. Â Of these Chrysotile has been the most commonly used for manufacturing.
- Manufactured asbestos is either friable or non-friable.  Friable asbestos is easily reduced to powder when crushed by hand.  The materials that contain high concentrations of this type of asbestos are likely to release fibres when broken or damaged. Friable asbestos must only be handled by an asbestos removalist with an ‘A’ class licence.
- Non-friable asbestos is firmly bound in a matrix of material.  These materials are unlikely to release dangerous levels of asbestos fibres if they are left undisturbed.  Common examples of these included ‘fibro’, ‘asbestos cement’ and ‘AC sheeting’.
What health conditions are linked to Asbestos?
- The risk of disease from asbestos depends on how often and how long a person has been exposed. Asbestos fibres become dangerous when they become airborne and can be breathed in, causing:
- asbestosis (scarring of lung tissue)
- mesothelioma (cancerous tumours that develop around the intestine or lungs)
- pleural plaques (thickening of membranes around the lungs)
- cancer of the lung, larynx and ovary.
- Symptoms of asbestos-related diseases include breathing difficulties and scarring of the lung that can be detected by x-ray.
When should employees be monitored for Asbestos Exposure?
- The current guidance states that Asbestos Medicals should be carried out:
- Prior to a worker starting employment to conduct a baseline analysis (pre-employment)
- Periodically on an annual basis
- An exit medical should also be conducted when the employee finishes working in this environment.
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