Lyons family puts home on market to discover asbestos in kitchen and hallway

But three weeks ago the Lyons home tested positive for deadly loose Mr Fluffy asbestos. Nathalie and the three children are now living in rental accommodation with a minimum of possessions while they wait to have the contaminated home demolished – potentially losing hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result.

The Ross family bought the house three years ago. Having moved from Victoria, the couple was not aware of Canberra's Mr Fluffy history, or the 1050 homes which had been pumped full of amosite asbestos insulation during the 1970s.

While these houses were part of a $100 million federal government clean-up program in the late 1980s, the majority are now harbouring potentially dangerous remnant amosite which had fallen down the wall cavities and into the subfloors.

The Rosses first heard of their property's Mr Fluffy history when they organised an inspection last month before putting the house on the market.

The paperwork unearthed a “certificate of clearance” of Mr Fluffy, but an asbestos assessment by Robson Environmental found loose fibres in the home’s kitchen and hallway leading to the bedrooms.

“Robsons told us the house was unsafe and that we shouldn't return to it. We have rented a house in Lyons while we try and sort through this,” Mrs Ross said.

A teacher by profession, she said one of the most difficult things she has had to do since receiving the contamination report was to phone the parents of her children’s friends to inform them they may have been exposed to the cancer-causing fibres.

“I also feel terrible that tradespeople have been exposed to asbestos in our home. When we purchased the house there were several open penetrations into the wall cavities in the living areas and the entire lower floor storage area of the house is exposed and yet the building inspection was approved. We bought the home in good faith that it was a safe place for us and our children to live. We would never have purchased the house if we had known that a Class 1 carcinogen remained in the walls,” Mrs Ross said.

“Right now, our lives are in chaos and I am focused on the immediate living and financial issues we face. I have not allowed myself to consider the health aspects of all of this on my children.”

Part of the stress of the family’s situation is organising the demolition of their home. Mrs Ross said she had sought three different quotes from asbestos removalists and received different opinions on how the home could be safely razed.

“It is so hard to know what to do. There is conflicting information about how asbestos can be removed.

''It has been suggested to me that my house can be cleaned and sealed internally and a certificate fo clearance issued. The house would be compliant and I would be able to sell it. But I cannot believe that a house can be made asbestos dust free and I could never sell this place to another family and put them through what we have been through."

ACT Work Safety Commissioner Mark McCabe said he was concerned about the way in which any Mr Fluffy home was demolished.

“It is important to ensure those demolitions are done safely and all Mr Fluffy houses will require an asbestos management plan,” Mr McCabe said. Their demolition would also need to follow strict protocols under the supervision of a licensed remover.

Mrs Ross said the ACT government needed to intervene to provide solutions to the owners of Mr Fluffy homes and to provide support to families who were in crisis because of asbestos.

The Ross family has joined the Fluffy Owners and Resident’s Action Group and is considering pursuing legal action.

Group convener Brianna Heseltine said there were several families in her group of 150 who were going through the demolition process and there was a huge amount of confusion about what the correct procedure was and how much additional cost would be imposed on owners.

"Owners in our group who want to knock down their homes are receiving very different advice and price estimates from construction and asbestos industry operators," Ms Heseltine said.

"We need urgent government intervention to prevent price gouging and to ensure sound industry practices without unnecessary red tape or over-the-top demolition guidelines. We don't need to go from having Mr Fluffy blowing into neighbour's yards during years of unmonitored extensions to a platinum standard involving a bubble dome over the entire block and subsoil removal down to bedrock."