Group Offers Asbestos Removal Kit

March 26, 2006 - An Australian watchdog group concerned with the growing numbers of asbestos-related diseases in their region has released what they are calling a “safe asbestos removal kit.”

According to an article posted on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) News Online, the Gippsland Asbestos Disease Group has launched the safety kit in south-east Victoria's Latrobe Valley, the region with the highest rate of asbestos deaths in Australia.

The president of the group, Vicki Hamilton, says the kit is designed for renovators removing asbestos from their homes. The organization is offering the asbestos removal kit because they are concerned that many homeowners, especially those who are in possession of older homes that contain asbestos insulation and other asbestos-laden products, lack the knowledge to remove the material without exposing themselves and others to airborne asbestos fibers.

She hopes the new kit will help reduce the next wave of asbestos-related illness and deaths in the Latrobe Valley.

"We've got two of everything in the kit to try and protect them and we've actually got a DVD instructional video guide that takes them through step-by-step in trying to work through the ... problems of removing asbestos safely," she said.