Regulations controlling working with asbestos tightened

Thursday 14 January 1999

Tighter health and safety regulations governing working with asbestos come into force today in an attempt to reduce the incidence of asbestos-related disease in New Zealand.

There have been 554 cases of asbestos-related disease confirmed by the National Asbestos Medical Panel in the five years from March 1992 to October 1997.

Of these 554 cases, 96 were mesothelioma, 47 lung cancer, 118 asbestosis and 293 cases of pleural abnormalities. By occupation, carpenters, plumbers, laggers and fitters were together responsible for more than 60 percent of all cases.

The Occupational Safety and Health Service of the Department of Labour (OSH) says the new regulations which come into force today January 14 will help reduce the tragic incidence of asbestos-related disease in the future.

OSH Business Adviser Lyall Mortimer said many diseases related to asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma, usually do not appear until many years later, sometimes only in retirement.

Updating these regulations will hopefully prevent these crippling and fatal disease appearing in future populations.

For example, under the new regulations further restrictions have been placed on the laundering of clothes, meaning workers cannot launder asbestos contaminated clothing in their own homes, Mr Mortimer said.

Overseas investigations have shown that the amount of asbestos dust in a laundry where women have washed the clothes of husbands, brothers or sons over the years has been much higher than the levels in the factories where the men worked.

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OSH has developed Guidelines for the Management and Removal of Asbestos and these have been amended to bring them into line with the new regulations. OSH has also prepared three bulletins to explain the changes.

The guidelines, regulations and bulletins are available from OSH branches listed under the Labour Department in the telephone book.