Major Research Initiative in Australia
The Australian Government, which has categorized the nation's epidemic of asbestos-related diseases as the “worst industrial disaster in our history,” has devised a comprehensive national strategy plan for dealing with the tragedy. On September 27, 2006, it was announced that a new National Research Center for Asbestos-Related Diseases would be established in Perth, Western Australia (WA) and that funding had been allocated for the pursuit of research into 11 medical, scientific, social and biological asbestos-related projects in WA, Victoria and Queensland. The sum to be dispersed in this tranche of funding is $6.2m; over the next decade, millions in additional funds will be provided to enable Australian researchers to study and ultimately combat the devastation caused by asbestos-related illnesses.1
Research projects which have been approved for funding in 2006-2007 include work on the following:
epidemiology and the consequences of asbestos exposure;
development of serum markers for improved diagnosis, monitoring and screening for early detection of mesothelioma, asbestos cancer;
study of genes present in asbestos-related disorders and the relationship to environmental exposure;
the body's mechanisms to inhibit collagen production and thereby slow growth of malignant mesothelioma tumors;
developing a grass-roots response to asbestos-related disease in Aboriginal communities;
studying people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who were formerly exposed to asbestos and tobacco smoke.
October 17, 2006
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1 For more information see: www.nhmrc.gov.au/funding/funded/outcomes/index.htm
