Television home renovation shows have fuelled a do-it-yourself craze that campaigners fear will lead to the next wave of asbestos victims - many of whom will be women.
The president of the Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia, Barry Robson, says shows like The Block, The Renovators and Better Homes and Gardens have been embraced by women who have taken up DIY renovation with a gusto.
But in the process, many have unwittingly become exposed to potentially deadly, mesothelioma-causing asbestos fibres present in just about all homes built before 1987.
"Unfortunately we're heading for a third wave of victims and their families because home renovation is getting so big," Mr Robson told AAP at the launch of a nationwide awareness campaign.
"An unfortunate by product of this is the increase in the number of women now presenting with meso."
Cases of mesothelioma in this group are expected to spike over the next 40 years, he said.
Renovation shows had a moral obligation to include "substantial warnings", Mr Robson said.
"They have not only fuelled (the DIY craze) but where they've let down the public is not having warnings," he said.
Mesothelioma has previously been associated with asbestos miners, manufacturers or tradespeople, but the new campaign aims to focus on the dangers of home renovations by informing people where asbestos can be found in their houses.
As part of the campaign, organisers have created a portable replica home which will embark on a nationwide tour, demonstrating where asbestos can be found.
Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases in the world and has been ranked among the top consumers of asbestos cement products per capita, the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute says.
The institute on Monday night is to hold a candlelight vigil for the victims of asbestos, with the sails of the Sydney Opera House to be illuminated blue.
WorkCover operations director Peter Dunphy said it was important to provide home renovators with information.
"Looking at exposure to asbestos we're looking at the people who are most likely to have the potential to be exposed to asbestos now, and that would be tradespeople and people who are doing home renovations."
Mr Dunphy said WorkCover was working closely with renovation shows to provide more information about asbestos.
"What we're finding is that they're doing that now," he said.
A copy of the NSW WorkCover's guide to working with asbestos is available for download here. Further information about asbestos-related diseases is available at the Asbestos Diseases Foundation website.
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