Asbestos was once touted as a wonder building material. Adding this natural mineral to building materials meant homeowners could enjoy better fire resistance and thermal insulation. It also worked wonders for material affordability.

Of course, we now know that asbestos is not the miracle mineral we all thought it was. Instead, it was a killer claiming the lives of hundreds of New Zealanders every year. Very little good has come of asbestos, but we have the opportunity to advocate for safer building materials and an asbestos-free future. Here’s how we can do it:

Educate Ourselves

Knowledge is power. The more we know about asbestos, its dangers, health effects, and safer alternatives, the easier it can be to protect ourselves and future generations.

For example, when you know that asbestos is dangerous, you can educate yourself on how to be safe when working with it. This can involve outsourcing asbestos removal to experts. You can also learn the importance of using appropriate PPE when removing up to 10m2 of non-friable asbestos yourself.

Education on safe disposal is helpful, too. When you safely transport asbestos building materials to an approved landfill facility, you can prevent other people from being accidentally exposed to asbestos waste in the future.

The more we learn about asbestos now, the more beneficial changes we can make. We can also take more measures to create a healthier future for all.

Raise Awareness

Not everyone knows what asbestos is, despite its dangers and prevalence in our homes and businesses. If we don’t know what it is, we don’t know how dangerous it can be. And if we don’t know how dangerous it can be, we don’t know how to keep ourselves safe!

As a result, we can advocate for an asbestos-free future by raising awareness. Fortunately, many established businesses and organisations, such as WorkSafe, Te Whatu Ora, and various asbestos removal companies like Chemcare, are already on board.

There is now no shortage of promotional materials, awareness weeks, social media content, and blog posts highlighting the dangers of asbestos and the actions we can all take to keep ourselves and others safe.

Encourage Community Engagement

While many people will perform their own research to learn more about something, not everyone will. We can hold community engagement events to make knowledge gathering and sharing easier. Community events, seminars, and workshops can all help educate the general public on asbestos hazards.

These events can also be an opportunity for people to ask questions. They can even learn about experts who can help with asbestos testing, management plans, encapsulation, and removal.

Lobby for Change

We have come a long way regarding asbestos use, removal, and safe disposal. We also now have sound safety measures in place for businesses and individuals. However, that doesn’t mean our rules, laws, and regulations are entirely perfect.

We are in a strong position to advocate for new regulations and policies when we notice failures. We can also engage with our local, regional, and national government officials to request more controls and regulations where needed.

Invest in Research and Innovation

We all know that asbestos is and continues to be a problem. While we have excellent measures in place for protection, we could be doing so much more to take care of people with asbestos-related illnesses. We could also be doing more to prevent such illnesses in the future.

Research and innovation can assist with that. And we’ve already come a long way in a short space of time. For example, Unitec launched an environmental solutions project to protect people and living species from the dangers of asbestos. This project focused on removing asbestos’s cancer-causing elements to make contaminated land safer.

Many top research foundations have also dedicated time and resources to finding treatments and cures for asbestos-related illnesses like mesothelioma. This is an excellent start toward enjoying an asbestos-free future.

Involve the Media

Our media is more than just a channel for receiving current events, the weather, and entertainment. We can also use media platforms for education. Asbestos experts can write content and press releases and give interviews to ensure that asbestos has a louder voice. The more we hear about this hazard, the easier it can be for people to absorb information, share it with others, and make informed decisions for themselves and others.

Let’s Do Better

We have a challenging relationship with asbestos, but that’s not to say we can’t make huge strides in how we approach asbestos in the future. By lobbying for change, investing in research, making safe removal choices, and ensuring asbestos information is more readily available, it may only be a matter of decades until we have safer homes and fewer asbestos-related deaths in our country.