Australian Gov Knew 25 Years Ago Of "Asbestos Health Problem Greater Than Any Documented"
The Commonwealth received expert medical advice more than 25 years ago warning Canberra's death rate to mesothelioma would almost certainly rise if people lived with Mr Fluffy insulation and that children were particularly vulnerable to harm from the asbestos fibres. One international occupational health expert said "This is a public health asbestos problem far greater than any documented elsewhere in the world."
According to documents obtained by the Fluffy Owners and Residents' Action Group Founder Brianna Heseltine under Freedom of Information legislation, both the National Health and Medical Research Council and occupational health academic Dr David Douglas provided separate reports to the Commonwealth on the acute health risks of Mr Fluffy in 1988 as it was preparing to remove the Class 1 carcinogen from the roof spaces of more than 1000 homes.
The owners of those houses now await a decision from the ACT and Commonwealth Governments on whether they should be demolished, having shown significant amounts of residual asbestos contamination in their walls and subfloors in spite of a five-year $100 million removal program. To date, 12 properties in Queanbeyan have been found to still contain all their original asbestos - having never been included in the original clean-up.
Professor Bruce Armstrong, then Director and Professor of Epidemiology and Cancer Research at the NHMRC, wrote to the ACT Administration to "confirm and amplify" advice he had delivered to its Asbestos Taskforce which was handling the removal program pre self-Government. Professor Armstrong acknowledged at that time it was already clear that Mr Fluffy had escaped from some roof cavities and had entered living spaces of a number of Canberra homes.
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http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/asbestos-bombshell-govt-knew-about-mr-fluffy-risk-25-years-ago-20141022-119uk7.html
