Submission to the National Dust Disease Taskforce

The Asbestos Disease Support Society Limited is pleased to provide the following submission to the National Dust Disease Taskforce.

Background to the Asbestos Disease Support Society

The Asbestos Disease Support Society (the “Society”) was founded in 1992 to help and support sufferers of asbestos related diseases, their families and carers. Since then, the Society has expanded its mission to not only provide this support, but to also:  Raise awareness in the community and workforce on the dangers posed by exposure to asbestos  Lobby for improvements on asbestos related matters  Work with the health community to aid in better understanding of asbestos related disease

The Society is registered as a charity with tax deductable gift status and operates in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Northern NSW.

The services provided by the Society continue to play an important role in the life journey of our members. These services include:  Access to our Social Worker to assist members to understand their entitlements and support access to appropriate medical, health and other support services – which is a core role of the Society.  Medical equipment loan scheme  Occupational therapy assessment  Nutrition and dietary consultation and information  Telephone support from our volunteers  Community morning teas throughout Qld, the Northern Territory and Northern NSW community  Peer to peer support through our member groups  Up to date information through the quarterly newsletter and events, such as the Symposium.  Legal Assistance through the Society’s Lawyers, who I have to say are second to none in the way they look after our members

Establishment of the Silicosis Support Network

The Silicosis Support Network was established in response to the increase in diagnosis of dust related lung disease in the engineered stone bench top (silicosis) industry. The Network is part of the Asbestos Disease Support Society as described above.

In late 2018, the Minister for Industrial Relations, the Honourable Grace Grace MP, issued a safety alert for engineered stone benchtop workers, following an increase in workers compensation claims for silicosis.

As a result of the re-emergence of this dust related lung disease, the Society determined to expand support beyond asbestos related diseases to other dust related lung diseases. At the Society’s 2018 Annual General Meeting, the membership approved changes to the Constitution to enable support for persons suffering “asbestos and dust related lung disease”. The Network operates on the same long-standing principles and services that has supported those suffering from asbestos related diseases.

We have been here before

Silicosis is not a new disease and the hazards associated with the inhalation of dust has been known for centuries. However, the Society rejects the notion emanating mainly from the media that this is the next asbestos – nothing will ever be the next asbestos. However, comparisons can be made. The product first came to use in the early 2000’s and has become a major and popular product, but with adverse health outcomes for workers. The disease has an on-set latency period but impacts over a shorter period compared to asbestos related diseases and effects a much younger cohort of workers. If we have learnt anything from the asbestos tragedy, it is that ”prevention is the only cure”. If the manufacture of the product cannot be undertaken safely, then consideration should be given to its ban.

Social impact of Silicosis and how it differs to Asbestos related diseases

It needs to be acknowledged that silicosis, similar to asbestos related disease is entirely preventable. All that these workers who have been impacted did was turn up for work to earn a living and provide for themselves and/or their families. There has been a collective failure which has seen their lives (and that of their families) dramatically impacted.

Historically, men have worked in industries where they have been at risk of exposure to asbestos and silica material. Today, asbestos is known as an older persons’ disease with the average sufferer being 72 years of age. The reason for this, is because the latency period from time of exposure to onset of disease is approximately 39 years (Australian Mesothelioma Register, 2019). In contrast, silicosis is known as a young persons’ disease with the average sufferer being 31 years old. The latency period of developing any form of silicosis ranges from weeks to twenty years.

Silicosis can and does have a profound and devastating impact on individuals and families who have been impacted by the disease. The following real-life examples have been provided to the Network by members who are suffering from silicosis:

Psychological Distress / Behaviour  Sense of anger towards employer for lack of protection and poor work place safety. “Not my fault!”  Sense of anger towards Government in general for letting this happen;  Gambling: “I don’t know how long I have to live, so I may as well have a spend all my money while I can”  Excessive drinking, drug taking: “I am unable to face this disease, so this helps me to forget”  Unable to face emotions: Mothers and other relatives attending support groups to gain information on the disease because their sons are unable to face medical facts. Financial distress  Not being able to pay mortgage  Extra transportation costs to attend training or new job  Struggling to pay medical bills Uncertainty about the future: psychological impact of not having predictability  Mental health (anxiety/depression, fear and anger)  Relationship difficulties eg care of future family needs, fear of not knowing if they will develop the disease or a more serious form of the disease Impact on children  Children see the devastating impact of their father’s health declining  Children are frightened that may become sick like their father  Children miss out on holidays, luxury items family once enjoyed together Retraining  The need to retrain – general anxiety and anger on the need to retrain and find employment in an unrelated occupation and industry with lower pay.

Recommendations

1. Better Support for Workers and Families 2. Development of a National Code of Practice 3. Enhanced Workplace Exposure Standard 4. Compulsory Health Screening 5. Establishment of a National Dust-Related Disease Register 6. Business Registration and Enforcement Measures 7. Establish a Dust Disease Research Fund

1. Support for Workers and Families

There is a need for a national approach to provide social service support for workers and their families impacted by this disease. Queensland is already supporting research into this aspect, which includes:  The treatment, rehabilitation and retraining options that are available to improve workers’ capacity;  The mental health impact and issues preventing return to work;  Ensuring the return to work environment is safe to protect workers’ long-term health.

While retraining is an important aspect to enable the worker to return to the workforce, the critical issue is being able to find employment once retrained. More effort is required by Government to ensure impacted workers are supported to find alternative employment.

2. Queensland Code of Practice

The Society supports Queensland’s “Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in the stone benchtop industry code of practice 2019’, which commenced on 31 October 2019. In particular, the code focusses on:  dust control methods to eliminate respirable crystalline silica dust during mechanical processing, including water suppression and on tool dust extraction;  the use of appropriate respirable protective equipment to safeguard workers;  air and health monitoring to check dust controls are effective and there are no changes to workers’ health;  safe onsite installation methods, including installation in homes; and  worker consultation, as well as training, education, instruction and supervision of workers. While this is an important development, it should be noted this will not assist workers who have already been exposed and diagnosed.

3. Enhanced Workplace Exposure Standard

The Society notes that the Reduction of the Workplace Exposure standard for Respirable crystalline silica to 0.05mgm/m3 by January 2020. It is also noted there is general agreement to adopt health-based standards. It is understood that a reduction to 0.02mgm/m3 (the health-based standard) relates to issues associated with the quality of measurement. The Society would urge that this issue be resolved as soon as possible so that the standard of 0.02mg/m3 can be adopted.

4. Compulsory Health Screening

The Society considers that there should be free compulsory health screening programs that extends to not only current workers in the industry, but also workers post exposure and retired workers. The Government should also look to work with the medical profession to ensure the medical workforce has the necessary skills to conduct accurate health screening.

5. Establishment of a National Dust-Related Disease Register

There is an urgent need to establish a National Notifiable Dust Lung Disease Register. The Society notes that Queensland has already introduced such a register. This would enable a further layer of protection for workers and provide government with important data on work related occupational lung disease.

6. Business Registration and Enforcement Measures

Consideration should be given to a compulsory business registration system to enable the tracking of exposures and targeted regulatory compliance inspections. A focussed awareness campaign targeting workers and employers should also be developed.

7. Establish a Dust Disease Research Fund

A dust disease research fund should be established to investigate potential treatments and cures. Such fund would be used to fund research into all dust related diseases, which would incorporate asbestos related diseases.