My Brother's Story
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My brother Neville was born in New Zealand.
He now lives in Melbourne,
This photo was taken at my 21st in 1964

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My brother has now been diagnosed with asbestosis.
He was a builder by trade and moved round quite a bit
While working in this trade he demolished, handled,
shaped and fixed materials that contained asbestos.
He worked on the building of new housing estates
where they used fibro flat sheets for walls,
floors, eaves and roofs.
Asbestos cement sheets
were also used in the construction
of the bathrooms in these estates

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Along with other workers who were all in
close proximity of each other.
He used power saws to cut
the asbestos cement sheeting.
He also worked in construction sites
of pre-schools where the outside cladding
and bathrooms were constructed with
asbestos cement fibro sheeting.
Constructed and renovated residential houses
and hotels in different areas.
Not one of these places of work was he warned
of the danger of asbestos or given
protective clothing, equipment,
face masks or breathing equipment.

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The asbestos materials never had warnings
on them about the dangers of
the inhalation of asbestos dust and fibres.
There was also the failure to provide
adequate ventilation at any of the
building sites where my brother worked
HE NOW HAS
Asbestosis
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Restricted Mobility
Impaired lung function
Pain, shock and anxiety.

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Remember This.

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My brother did nothing wrong
He did not deserve this
And neither do any other people who
have been affected by this terrible product
He is on oxygen so if he wants to travel anywhere,
he has to take the supply
of it into consideration.
He can't on the spur of the moment,
decide to go somewhere
and just pack up and go.
No
For him he has to organise the supply of oxygen,
To make sure it is going to be at
the other end of his journey
before he can leave home.

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This photo was taken in Masterton, NZ. 2009

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