One of the sons of the original Mr Fluffy business owner has apologised for the ongoing legacy of loose-fill asbestos in Canberra and New South Wales.
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Dirk Jansen sold loose-fill asbestos insulation "fluff" to homeowners in Canberra and New South Wales in the 1960s and 1970s, setting in motion the crisis that will see more than 1000 homes in the ACT demolished over health concerns.
Paul Jansen, one of Dirk Jansen's eight children, told ABC Canberra on Sunday he was "so sorry" for the impact his father's product had caused.
"I'm disturbed, I get upset, I feel for these people," he said. "I care and I am so sorry [for] what they are going through because I am going through the same thing myself.
"I have feared for my health for decades, it's always been in the back of my mind. It always will be."
The 60-year-old, who lives in NSW, said he was not aware of any cases of mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases in his family.
His father, Dirk Jansen, died of a heart attack in 2001 after suffering from Alzheimer's and living in a nursing home.
The "Mr Fluffy" business name was added after Dirk Jansen sold his interest.
Previously none of the Jansen family have spoken to the media, except through a written statement issued by a spokesman. Paul Jansen's comments come a day before the first of five pilot homes will be demolished in Canberra.
The home in Sternberg Crescent, Wanniassa, will be demolished at 8.30am on Monday.
Paul Jansen said he did not help install any insulation products sold by his father. Older siblings assisted with the business, run from the Jansen family's Lyons home where the children played with the deadly product.
He suffers from scarring on his lungs.
"Rightfully or wrongfully, what my father did, he believed at the time that he was doing it for his family," Mr Jansen told the ABC.
"He had eight children, all under 10, and he's trying to make a living to put food on the table."
Acknowledging he "never liked" his father that much, Mr Jansen said he did not have a good relationship with the rest of his family today.
He criticised successive governments over their ongoing management of the asbestos problem.
"People's wellbeing emotionally is more important than one dollar. The quicker it's cleaned up and not allowed to be ever used again, the better," Mr Jansen said.
"When the last house goes ... I'll sit back and relax."
