Despite predictions that the number of people dying from asbestos related diseases would decline after the mining and use of asbestos was banned, it hasn’t. Over a decade since it was banned we still have a significant legacy of asbestos in our built environment. This includes buildings owned by government.
Asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in government owned buildings are anywhere between 30 years and 100 years old. The majority of those ACMs are about 60 years old. These ACMs are near or at the end of their product life and subject to damage, deterioration and weathering.
The Victorian Asbestos Eradication Agency was created to:
- develop a consolidated register of the condition and location of asbestos in Victorian government owned buildings; and
- develop a schedule for the prioritised removal of identified asbestos.
The VAEA worked on creating the register and Schedule from 2017 to 2018. The Schedule and consolidated register are maintained in a purpose built database, the Asbestos Identification and Rating System (AIR System).
The AIR System is a secure, centralised, live database of identified asbestos in government owned buildings. It is used to update the location and condition of ACMs, record removals, and reassess risk, where there is any change in friability, condition, disturbance potential or building use.
This is the first time a centralised register of this scale has been has been used to both plan for asbestos removal and improve health and safety outcomes by providing more accessible, accurate information on a building’s asbestos legacy.