A Curtin University student has developed a smartphone app to help identify deadly asbestos in homes across Western Australia.
The app was designed to reduce the risk of asbestos-related illnesses for do-it-yourself renovators.
It allows users to identify the potential risk from asbestos in the home and will allow its creators to map prevalence of asbestos in homes across the state.
PhD student Matthew Govorko developed the app and said it had a simple interface.
“The app guides users through a series of questions, aided by photographs, to identify the potential level of risk in and around their homes before they start to renovate,” he said.
“If material is possibly or likely to contain asbestos, the user is asked to report the current condition of the material and specify if it is likely to be disturbed during home renovations.
“Once they have completed the questionnaire through the app they are offered a series of recommendations about what action to take based on the level of risk identified for each product.”
Associate Professor Alison Reid guided Mr Govorko during development and said it was estimated one-third of all Australian homes contained asbestos.
“Australia has the second highest mesothelioma death rate in the world with about 600 cases diagnosed each year,” she said.
“It is important we do all we can to ensure more people are not exposed.”
ACM Check could be downloaded for free on the Apple store and on Google Play.
