Lung screening checks offered as $2.5m Lung Bus wraps up Tweed Heads visit

LOCAL workers have been given access to free lung screening checks through the icare Lung Bus, which has concluded its latest visit to the Northern Rivers.

The $2.5m mobile screening clinic was stationed at the HACC Centre on the corner of Heffron Street and Minjungbal Drive in Tweed Heads, offering free screenings for eligible workers.

Local business owners have also been encouraged to register for the SafeWork Silica Worker Register and ensure workers exposed to hazardous dust receive appropriate health monitoring.

Both the Lung Bus and the Silica Worker Register form part of broader efforts to promote early detection and regular screening for workers at risk of developing dust-related diseases.

The Silica Worker Register is an online portal that allows a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) to enter details of workers who process high-risk crystalline silica substances.

SafeWork NSW uses the information to monitor compliance with workplace health and safety obligations.

PCBUs with workers at risk of respirable crystalline silica exposure are required to provide access to health monitoring.

Fourteen Northern Rivers businesses are currently registered on the Silica Worker Register, with the NSW government continuing to encourage more employers to sign up.

Minister for workplace health and safety Sophie Cotsis said the Lung Bus tour helped bring essential screening services directly to communities.

“The Lung Bus is about bringing essential services directly to the communities that need them most,” Cotsis said.

“The Lung Bus tour removes barriers like cost and location, ensuring workers across NSW have access to screenings that could save their life.”

She said the Lung Bus visit also served as a reminder to Northern Rivers employers about their responsibilities to monitor workers exposed to hazardous dust.

“Having the Lung Bus in the Northern Rivers is also a timely reminder for local businesses of their screening obligations for their workforce,” she said.

“Annual screening of your workforce who are exposed to hazardous dusts like Crystalline Respirable Silica is critical to early detection of diseases and support for workers and their health.”

Eliminating the risks associated with silica remains a priority for the Minns government, with the Lung Bus forming part of a broader suite of initiatives aimed at reducing exposure risks in workplaces across NSW.

These include the Silica Worker Register, the ban on engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs containing 1 per cent or more crystalline silica, the Tunnelling Dust Safety Taskforce, a dedicated silica unit within SafeWork NSW, $5m in funding for the Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute, and a workplace health and safety code of practice for working with crystalline silica.

For more information, visit the SafeWork NSW website.