Asbestos slipping into homes

BUILDING materials laced with lethal asbestos are landing in our homes and building sites, as Chinese companies flout Australia’s ban.

Australian Border Force identified 8643 shipments as “high risk” for asbestos during 2016-17, but only examined 761, leaving 90 per cent to slip through to building sites, hardware stores and supermarkets.

It seized 64 shipments of asbestos-contaminated goods — including children’s crayons, four types of building products and car parts, brake pads and vintage vehicles.

The Federal Government’s Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency warned it could be “the tip of the iceberg’’.

Agency chief executive Peter Tighe said some Chinese manufacturers and importers were lying to Border Force, builders and retailers.

“The certification documents from China really don’t hold any water,’’ Mr Tighe said.

“The problem is if a product comes out of China, and China still mines asbestos, you’re going to see a degree of contamination. In cement board, they still use asbestos in the mix. If we don’t control this, we’ll end up with a second legacy of asbestos — and we won’t know where it is.’’

He warned renovators to get asbestos checks of any tiles or building products bought online from China through websites such as Alibaba.

China does not recognise chrysotile as a form of asbestos so some manufacturers declare items containing the mineral to be “asbestos-free’’, in breach of Australia’s 14-year ban.

Australian Border Force Assistant Commissioner Jim Williams said results of increased targeting and testing “don’t indicate a widespread problem with asbestos-contaminated building products entering the country’’.

But Mr Tighe said “no-one’s really had a kick in the backside’’ for flouting the asbestos ban. “Products are definitely coming in here. Who wants their kids chewing on a crayon that might have asbestos?’’