Asbestos exposure during home renovation in New South Wales

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos exposure during home renovation in New South Wales, by E.K. Park, D.H. Yates, R.A. Hyland, et al (The Medical Journal of Australia, 2013).

The study

• Authors: E.K. Park, D.H. Yates, R.A. Hyland, A.R. Johnson
• Journal: The Medical Journal of Australia
• Published: 2013;199(6):410-3
• Cited by: 17 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Objective: Asbestos exposure is causally associated with the development of malignant mesothelioma (MM), which is increasingly being reported after exposure to asbestos fibro sheeting in Australia. In this study, we investigate self-reported non-occupational asbestos exposure during home renovation in New South Wales.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional mailed questionnaire examining renovation activity, tasks undertaken during renovation and self-reported exposure to asbestos among respondents and their family members in NSW between January and June 2008.

Participants: 10 000 adults aged 18-99 years, randomly selected from the NSW electoral roll. We received 3612 responses, while 365 questionnaires did not reach addressees, giving an overall response rate of 37.5%.

Main Outcome Measures: Differences in self-reported asbestos exposure between do-it-yourself (DIY) and non-DIY renovators.

Results: 1597 participants (44.2%) had renovated their home and among these, 858 participants (53.7%) self-reported as DIY renovators. Of these, 527 (61.4%) reported asbestos exposure during home renovations, 337 (39.3%) reported that their partner had been exposed to asbestos during renovations, and 196 (22.8%) reported that their children had been exposed. More than 20% of renovators planned to further renovate their current homes within the next 5 years.

Conclusions: Self-reported asbestos exposure during home renovation is common. This preventable exposure could place adults and children at risk of MM many years into the future. Although such exposure is self-reported and ideally should be verified, this study identifies a potentially important problem in NSW.

In plain English

This study was a questionnaire survey mailed in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, between January and June 2008. It went to 10 000 adults aged 18 to 99 who were randomly selected from the NSW electoral roll, and 3612 replied, a response rate of 37.5%. Of those who replied, 1597 (44.2%) had renovated their home, and 858 of these (53.7%) described themselves as do-it-yourself (DIY) renovators. Among the DIY renovators, 527 (61.4%) reported asbestos exposure during renovation, compared with 20 (2.7%) of renovators who did not do the work themselves. Of the 858 DIY renovators, 337 (39.3%) reported that their partner had been exposed, and 196 (22.8%) reported that their children had been exposed as well as their partner. Asbestos cement fibro sheeting was the most common reported source, named by 508 of the 527 exposed DIY renovators. Only 12.0% of DIY renovators reported using respiratory protection regularly. Exposure was self-reported, not measured. The authors named this as a limitation, along with the low response rate. They stated that whether this exposure will result in disease remains to be seen.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Cross-sectional study using a mailed questionnaire
• Who was studied: 10 000 adults aged 18 to 99 randomly selected from the NSW electoral roll, surveyed January to June 2008. 3612 responded (response rate 37.5%).
• Exposure: Self-reported, non-occupational asbestos exposure during home renovation (DIY and non-DIY), mainly contact with asbestos cement fibro sheeting, plus asbestos insulation and other materials. Fiber types were not identified or measured by the study.
• Main results:
  • 1597 respondents (44.2%) had renovated their home; 858 of them (53.7%) were DIY renovators.
  • 527 DIY renovators (61.4%) reported asbestos exposure during home renovations.
  • 20 respondents (2.7%) in the non-DIY renovator group also reported exposure.
  • Of the 858 DIY renovators, 337 (39.3%) reported their partner had been exposed during renovations, and 196 (22.8%) reported their children had been exposed as well as their partner.
  • Among the 527 exposed DIY renovators, 73 (13.9%) reported exposure to asbestos insulation, in addition to the 508 (96.4%) exposed to fibro sheeting.
  • Among DIY renovators, 12.0% reported using respiratory protection regularly and 28.4% occasionally.
  • Among all respondents, 584 (16.2%) reported their current home contained asbestos and 1020 (28.2%) did not know.
  • 515 respondents (14.3%) of the total group planned to renovate in the next 5 years.
  • Plans to renovate in the next 5 years were reported by 215 DIY renovators (25.1%), 110 non-DIY renovators (14.9%) and 190 of those who had never renovated (9.4%); P less than 0.05.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that self-reported asbestos exposure during DIY home renovation in NSW was common, as was reported exposure of family members. They stated that whether this exposure will result in disease remains to be seen, but that this preventable exposure needs to be addressed.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Exposure was self-reported rather than actually measured.
  • The response rate was relatively low (37.5%).
  • Participants were younger than usual NSW residents.
  • Domestic exposure is likely to be underestimated because asbestos can be hard to identify.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Asbestos Exposure, Malignant Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Asbestos exposure during home renovation in New South Wales — A.R. Johnson, D.H. Yates (2014)
• Asbestos exposure during home renovation in New South Wales — R.A. Lemen, A.L. Frank, et al. (2014)
• Increasing incidence of malignant mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos during home maintenance and renovation — N.J. Olsen, P.J. Franklin, et al. (2011)
• Medicolegal aspects of the third wave of asbestos-related disease in Australia — J.R. Gordon, J. Leigh (2011)
• Renovation and renewal — A. Katelaris (2011)
• Surveillance of Australian workplace Based Respiratory Events (SABRE) in New South Wales — K. Hannaford-Turner, D. Elder, et al. (2010)

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