How Asbestos Audits Can Save Lives in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and All over Queensland
A large percentage of properties built throughout the 20th century contain asbestos, a series of minerals known to cause lung cancers and other health problems. The good news is that not all properties containing asbestos are unusable or even particularly dangerous. So long as asbestos containing materials (ACMs) remain stable and contained, they don’t pose any real threat. Asbestos is dangerous because microscopic fibres can be released into the air. When a person breathes these fibres in, that’s when the health problems associated with the mineral start.
Protecting Your Workforce
Asbestos audits can help save lives, therefore, by helping business owners to determine the risk level associated with any ACMs that might have been used in the building of their property. As conducted by SAES (Safe Air Environmental Services), a Brisbane-based company, asbestos audits determine first whether or not asbestos is present in a property’s building materials. Auditors then compile a report, informing business owners where on their property asbestos is located and how it can be managed or monitored. At SAES, our Asbestos Management Plans not only protect the safety of your workplace but also ensure compliance with all state and Federal regulations.
When you know where on your property asbestos is located, you can steer workers away from that area to prevent exposure and reduce risk. For instance, a building that was completed over a number of years—or one that had additions or renovations in the 1960s or ’70s—might contain asbestos in certain rooms or floors, but not others. A business owner in such a situation might consider closing off those rooms or floors to protect their workforce from exposure. Such recommendations are what SAES asbestos audits on the Sunshine Coast will provide.
The Far-Reaching Impacts of Asbestos Audits in Queensland
The effects of asbestos—and the dangers of it—can be felt beyond your workforce. Unstable, uncontained or friable (crumbly) asbestos is dangerous not only because workers can breathe the fibres, but also because the fibres can stick to their clothing when they leave to go home. As a result, friends and family members are often exposed to asbestos through loved ones who work in an asbestos-rich building. If your business is a retail store or some other outfit that frequently serves customers on-site, the issues grow even more problematic.
Think of unstable asbestos as a bacterial infection: just as germs and illnesses can pass from one person to another through contact, asbestos fibres can easily move from one person’s clothing into another person’s airway. As a result, when you hire someone to do an asbestos audit in Queensland, you are not only taking responsibility to protect the safety of your workers but of the people they come in contact with as well.
So schedule an asbestos audit in Sunshine Coast or Brisbane today, and do your part to save lives. These minerals are dangerous and difficult to manage, but with the knowledge and close attention to detail of a trained auditor, you will be able to identify asbestos on your property and think up a plan to manage it going forward.