The Dangerous Substances Act 2004 was passed by the Australian government to improve the safety standards of people and also to protect possible life stock, property from the hazards of dangerous substances like explosives and asbestos. The purpose of the Act also includes minimizing, if not eliminating of hazards from dangerous substances. It can be done by identifying the risk and working on them to control any outbreak by providing training to the people who handle dangerous substances. The Act also works to provide responsibilities where dealing with these substances is concerned. It also aims to regulate dangerous substances by making authorization and licensing necessary where these substances are concerned and by also adding schemes where these substances need to be registered as dangerous in order to notify the users.
According to this Act, the meaning of Asbestos is varied in the many asbestiform mineral silicates in which it is found and that belongs to the serpentine groups of rock formation minerals such as –
• Grunerite asbestos, which is brown
• Actinolite asbestos
• Anthophyllite asbestos
• Crocidolite, which is blue
• Chrysotile, which is white
• Tremolite asbestos
Where asbestos in concerned, it becomes the duty of the related minister to generate and provide information regarding Asbestos awareness. This material can be passed either on national television, or at schools, public places and places of work or through the news paper or the internet. The Act also makes it the minister’s duty to prepare information about the likely uses of asbestos in a particular location of residential premises for buildings that have started before 1985. This information is technically known as the asbestos advice and is used as an instrument by the government to notify its people.
The Act also outlines an asbestos assessment report for residential premises where a report is prepared by an authorized asbestos assessor, who checks the conditions of the asbestos used in relation to the premises. He then advices on how should the substance be managed and includes everything as required in the report.
The Dangerous Substance Act 2004 therefore sets rules and safeguards to minimize the risk of asbestos related diseases to the greatest extent possible.
