Asbestos warning following Horsham North storm

Published on 07 December 2020

Home owners and volunteers cleaning up after the Horsham North tornado are being warned to be careful of exposure to asbestos.

The storm, which was officially labelled a tornado by the Bureau of Meteorology severely damaged homes in Horsham's north.

Gusts reached upwards of 177 kilometres per hour just before 1am on Monday morning.

Key points 

• Asbestos totalling less than 10 m² can be disposed of by the homeowner at Dooen Landfill as long as removal is done safely
• Larger quantities of 10m² or more will need to be done by licenced asbestos removalist (no way around this) – details for removalists are on the Worksafe website (link at bottom)
• If homeowner is removing the asbestos, then the asbestos must be:
  1. Only handled with appropriate PPE, such as a P2 face mask and sturdy gloves
  2. Kept damp to reduce dust
  3. Packaged in two layers of 0.2 mm thick polythene sheeting (aka builders plastic), which is then to be sealed with adhesive tape and labelled with “CAUTION ASBESTOS". 
  4. Transported safely and securely to an EPA licenced facility. The two closest are Dooen Landfill and Stawell Landfill. These sites will require prior notification.

Asbestos Safety Guide(PDF, 7MB)