Australia has the second-highest rate of mesothelioma deaths across the globe, with more than 10, 000 people falling victim to the disease since the early 1980s. Far from getting better, research by The Australian Mesothelioma Registry suggests that the disease toll has slowly increased over time. It’s a truth that hit close to home for residents of Sunshine North in Melbourne, where a five-month investigation by the Herald Sun newspaper in 2014 uncovered the biggest known suburban asbestos contamination in Australia to that date.
Twenty-five Sunshine locals are known to have died or fallen ill from environmental exposure to asbestos from the Wunderlich factory, an old cement plant that had been one of the two big asbestos manufacturers in the country during the fifties. Situated between local schools and residential blocks, the Wunderlich grounds were frequently walked through by those who lived nearby. As a result, unlike those who fall ill due to work-related exposure, the victims of Sunshine have contracted asbestos related diseases simply by living in the wrong area, at the wrong time.
What did the Wunderlich Asbestos Factory do?
- The Wunderlich factory was originally owned by the German Wunderlich brothers
- CSR Ltd ran the factory from 1969 to 1977 before selling to James Hardie
- 3 Wunderlich durabestos factories operated in Australian suburbs at the time—including Rosehill in Sydney and Gaythorne in Brisbane
- The factory manufactured asbestos cement roofing and wall-siding in Sunshine for 55 years
- A total of 5 acres of land were covered in waste asbestos dust and broken sheeting at the back of the Wunderlich factory for twenty years from the 1950s
- During its peak production years, the factory was not fenced off to local residents and children
How were locals exposed to asbestos?
Currently, in Australia, people exposed to asbestos are often working in older buildings undergoing renovation or demolition. However, it’s believed many of the victims in Sunshine North could be unwell due to an exposure to environmental sources much earlier in life. Given the factory’s central location, many local residents would cut through the grounds of Wunderlich on their way to school or to the shops. Little did they know, the land had been littered with waste asbestos dust and broken sheeting for twenty years from the mid 1950s.
As a result, residents currently living in this area are also concerned about their exposure. However, at this stage it’s not clear if there is a true increase in asbestos-related disease in the community residences surrounding Wunderlich, though the Victorian Department of Health says investigations are underway to clarify this issue.
How was the connection with the Wunderlich factory discovered?
Slater & Gordon lawyer Margaret Kent has worked with hundreds of asbestos victims who have fought and won compensation from the company responsible for the majority of the Wunderlich issues — CSR. She believes that the area that surrounds the Wunderlich factory is home to the greatest concentration of environmental asbestos cases in Victoria. Ms Kent discovered the connection earlier this year when she began seeing the same street names featured on multiple case files in the office.
An investigation led by the Herald Sun confirmed that at least 16 people who grew up within 1km of the plant — none of whom worked for the factory — have died of asbestos-related diseases. One family was later awarded $500,000 in compensation.
What should I do to prevent accidental asbestos exposure?
Remember, you don’t have to be living in a known asbestos-ridden area to be concerned about asbestos exposure. You can be exposed to asbestos simply by unwittingly disturbing asbestos-containing material while renovating a house.
If you’re planning to renovate or demolish your home or business premises, you can book an asbestos inspection from Airsafe. We’ll look over the building from top to bottom, inside or outside, test samples of any suspect materials in our state of the art laboratory, and advise you on what action you need to take, if any.
If there’s a particular material in your home that you suspects contain asbestos, find out how to safely collect a sample and send it to Airsafe for asbestos testing.
Finally, if you have any questions about asbestos, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
