Tender: Research into Low-Level Asbestos Exposure and Risk of Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer

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The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency (ASSEA) is seeking a supplier to investigate the association between low-level asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases (ARDs), focusing on mesothelioma and lung cancer. ASSEA notes asbestos is a Class 1 carcinogen with no known safe threshold and defines low-level exposure as at or below the current Australian workplace exposure standard of 0.1 fibres per millilitre (f/mL) measured as an 8-hour time-weighted average. A commissioned rapid review of 34 reports (representing 19 unique studies) found evidence of an association between non-occupational, low-level exposure and increased mesothelioma risk, while evidence for lung cancer was less consistent; the review also raised the possibility of determining a dose-response function for low-level, non-occupational exposure. ASSEA now seeks the services of a supplier to further investigate these findings.