Firefighters Need Better Asbestos Training

Article Added July 26th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story

After a disaster in New South Wales, unions are requesting that firefighters receive better training when it comes to asbestos and it’s handling. The unions are also pushing for medical testing for those who have already been exposed.

Thousands of safety personnel were exposed to asbestos after a firefighter training activity was conducted in a decomposing building riddled with asbestos. The government promised medical testing to those present at the activity, as well as family members that could have been exposed to clothes with asbestos on them. Unions in the area are asking the New South Wales government to supply firefighters with better training when it comes to asbestos, as well as making good on the promise for testing which has thus far been denied.

An eight-point plan has been proposed for firefighters that are sent to buildings potentially housing asbestos. The eight points include immediate and continuing medical testing for firefighters that are called to buildings containing asbestos. During a fire, asbestos can break into deadly fibers that work their way into the lining of the lungs. Asbestosis, emphysema and mesothelioma can develop in the years after asbestos exposure., and if not found in the early stages, as continued testing would, the diseases are often fatal.

Article Added July 26th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story