Recently our volunteers were invited to give a presentation on asbestos awareness to the Goolwa Lions Club. We were invited to join them for their regular meeting at the Goolwa Hotel.

There were many questions after the presentation. Goolwa is gradually being redeveloped; old houses (often built from asbestos cement) being knocked down and new houses going up. As well as talking about the dangers, we also explained that there is more than one type of asbestos related disease:pleural plaques, asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer caused by asbestos. It is not a progression – having one disease does not lead on to the next.

This presentation was organised by AVA's Fleurieu Peninsula representative, Catherine Wegener. Her hard work in establishing a new AVA branch has brought us into contact with yet more asbestos sufferers.

We thank Goolwa Lions for their hospitality. They are a very active group and do much good work in the community.