7th March 2021
The Commonwealth has actively begun investigating a new scheme to provide compensation to individuals that have contracted asbestos related diseases from living in houses insulated with Mr Fluffy.
If you live in Canberra, it is highly likely you have heard of the Mr Fluffy homes. Between 1968 and 1979 over 1000 homes in Canberra and surrounds were pumped with toxic Mr Fluffy, loose fill asbestos insulation. Now, most of these homes have been demolished or at least cleaned of all visible and accessible traces of the product, but we are still seeing the effects. Approximately 1-2 people every year are being diagnosed with asbestos related diseases that can be linked back to the Mr Fluffy insulation.
Most exposure to asbestos occurs in the workplace, or during home renovations and there are compensation schemes for these victims. However, in these cases, the body responsible for the compensation is the corporation that caused the exposure, but in the Mr Fluffy cases, the corporation no longer exists, and therefore no compensation can be made at their expense. Victims and their families feel that the onus should fall on the federal government to provide compensation, due to the accusation that they knew about the detrimental health effects and let practice continue.
In mid-1968 a leading industrial hygienist sent a report to the federal government regarding the use and installation of loose fill asbestos. He recommended that the company now known as Mr Fluffy should be dissuaded or prevented from using asbestos insulation due to mounting evidence that community exposure of asbestos is undesirable. While it crossed the desks of the Director for the Department of Health and the Director the Department of Works, the substance was used for another 11 years before asbestos controls were introduced.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed that federal bureaucrats are now investigating the proposal of establishing a fund and would work as quickly as possible with ACT government officials on this matter. This is currently the only form of asbestos exposure, that as a bystander, you are not entitled to any compensation.