While construction accidents are still prevalent in our workforce, they are not responsible for killing the largest number of our workforce. Something you can’t see, hear, or smell holds that title: asbestos.

Asbestos is responsible for approximately 170 deaths in New Zealand each year, with many people being diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses like mesothelioma up to 40 years after their exposure events. How did this innocent-looking natural mineral all of a sudden become our biggest workforce killer?

We Put It In Everything

We went crazy for asbestos as soon as we realized its versatility and benefits, like thermal insulation, energy efficiency, heat resistance, and weather resistance. Before long, we had imported 5,000 tonnes of asbestos into the country between 1960 and 1970 and 8,500 tonnes by 1975.

Upon importing it, factories across the motu used it to manufacture at least 3,000 different products – with everything from Christmas decorations to vehicle brake pads containing this deadly substance.

Sure, we finally put our foot down and banned brown and blue asbestos by 1984, but it took over a decade for white asbestos to be banned. Eventually, that happened in 1999.

Before that happened, though, we were left with hundreds of thousands of asbestos-containing products and building materials, and there was no escaping it. It has become our toxic legacy.

And that has essentially contributed to asbestos becoming New Zealand’s number one killer in the workplace. Not only did we have New Zealanders manufacturing it, but we also had them installing it, removing it, and living with it.

We Took Too Long to Ban It

In the early 1970s, the Minister of Health acted on results from a Department of Health survey and other recommendations and wrote to the Minister of Labour, recommending specific asbestos regulations. It had started to become evident, at least from data in other countries, that asbestos wasn’t good for our health.

The Minister of Health recommended that we model our regulations on the 1969 Asbestos Regulations of the United Kingdom, but with the proviso that the Department of Labour investigates further use of asbestos in stores and warehouses with bulk supplies, which wasn’t outlined in the UK’s regulations.

At this point, we only had legislation consisting of the Construction Act 1959 and the Construction Regulations 1961. These were not asbestos-specific. It wasn’t until 1978 that the new regulations were published, which is an incredibly long time to wait to find out if we could be keeping our workers safer than they were around asbestos and asbestos-containing materials.

Many experts have questioned why the drafting process was so slow. After all, we already had sufficient evidence to suggest serious health risks associated with asbestos exposure. The Department of Labour even stated that their head office knew the dangers of sawing, processing, grinding, and spraying asbestos. However, it was almost like developing the regulations meant they didn’t have to take any further actions. They had outlined the best approach to controlling exposure to asbestos dust in the workplace, and it was now up to the individual workplaces.

However, it was clear that we needed more than regulations. Even once the asbestos regulations were published, manufacturers continued to manufacture asbestos cement products until 1986 and various other products like brake linings and insulation.

We Couldn’t See It to Avoid It

You can move out of the way of a car to avoid being hit by it. You can hold onto a handrail when walking downstairs to avoid falling. You can install non-slip mats to prevent a fall in your own home. But you can’t protect yourself from something you can’t see and something you might not know is dangerous.

And that’s the category asbestos fibres fall into. Asbestos fibres are long, thin, and only 0.1 to 10 µm in length. That means they are not visible to the human eye. Even though we can use specialised face masks and respirators to avoid breathing in the fibres today, we couldn’t have known we were inhaling them before the actual dangers of asbestos were known. You can’t avoid what you can’t see.

As a result, tradespeople, manufacturers, and everyday people were working with and around asbestos without knowing they were breathing in the fibres. Eventually, with time, frequent exposure, and bad luck, those fibres could embed inside your organ linings and tissues, leading to severe health conditions like asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Asbestos Doesn’t Have to Be Our Future No.1 Workplace Killer

We are in a much better position now than we’ve ever been before. We know the risks associated with asbestos, and we know how to avoid them. If you’re about to undertake asbestos removal, don’t risk your life and health. Take all necessary health and safety measures or leave this deadly task in the capable hands of trained and licensed asbestos removal experts.