Wodonga home owners call for immediate action

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A notorious form of asbestos-filled ceiling insulation known as "Mr Fluffy" has been found in a number of homes in Wodonga, prompting owners to call for immediate action to help them deal with it.

Transcript

00:00 John Humphrey purchased his first home in Wodonga in 2020, but two years later, an electrician

00:08 fixing a faulty light raised the alarm about the loose-fill insulation in his ceiling.

00:14 It was found to be riddled with asbestos.

00:16 We've had sampling and analysis done throughout the house which indicated that these fibres

00:21 are everywhere.

00:22 The product is called Mr Fluffy and was notoriously used in Canberra homes until the 70s before

00:29 direct links to serious health issues were discovered.

00:32 Knowing that we had lived in that house and knowing that there were people currently living

00:37 in it who were exposed to that, it was just really shocking and a bit scary as well.

00:43 89-year-old Aileen Munt lives next door and remembers being sold Mr Fluffy as a cheap

00:49 insulation in the late 60s.

00:52 Two years ago, she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

00:55 I just thought we were being very smart and it wasn't at all.

01:01 If I could get it out of his place, I certainly would because, well, it's just not safe.

01:08 Government schemes were rolled out across the ACT in New South Wales, buying back contaminated

01:14 properties to be demolished.

01:16 But no such scheme exists in Victoria.

01:20 Wodonga Council said it doesn't oversee asbestos removal from private properties and the state

01:25 government said it's investigating the issue.

01:28 Those who lived through the ordeal in Canberra say that's not good enough.

01:32 It's such a horribly toxic substance that really the government does need to get in

01:38 there and look at doing something to help the community.

01:41 Considering that three kilometres down the road in New South Wales, it is a public health

01:46 crisis, it's a pretty unrealistic response we thought.

01:49 While he waits for answers, Mr Humphrey's house remains empty, unable to be sold, rented

01:56 or demolished.

01:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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