Understanding and Ending the Lethal Asbestos Legacy(opens in a new window)
Sustainability, Volume 15, Issue 3, February 2023
by S Stevenson, O Barron, A Pakenham and M Hashinaka
Part of a special issue on 'Sustainable Practices for Asbestos Detection, Management and Disposal in the Built Environment', this article explores the complexities of our asbestos legacy.
The authors discuss how the VAEA created AIRSystem(opens in a new window) to track the location and condition of ACMs in government-owned buildings in Victoria. Further, the VAEA developed a risk model to prioritise ACM removal based on the following factors: friability, condition, disturbance potential, and building rating.
High-quality asbestos registers are crucial, and organisations are encouraged to maximise the value of their asbestos survey investments. Through robust data collection and analysis, AIRSystem enables organisations to understand their asbestos legacy and to make informed decisions about prioritised removal.
Victorian Asbestos Eradication Agency Prioritised Asbestos Removal: A Pathway to Best Practice(opens in a new window)
Exposure, Issue 3, November 2024
by J Grant(opens in a new window)
British Occupational Hygiene Society board member and UK Faculty for Asbestos Analysis and Management Registrar Jonathan Grant explores the contrasting approaches to asbestos management in the UK and in Australia – specifically, in Victoria.
The article looks at the VAEA's creation of AIRSystem to track and risk-rate asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), which gives the state government a solid understanding of the extent of the asbestos legacy in government-owned buildings in Victoria. AIRSystem assigns a risk rating to each ACM, empowering government agencies to start planning, budgeting for and prioritising ACM removal, starting with the most hazardous.
In contrast, the UK has rejected proposals for a central register and prioritised removal strategy.
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