ASBESTOS RIDDEN HOME LINKED TO FAMILY CANCERS

The late Ada Fossa standing in the doorway of her Denham home.

GEOFF VIVIAN

In the Gascoyne, a Mulgana woman says she, her parents, and two of her three siblings have been diagnosed with serious respiratory diseases.

“My mum ended up having her whole right lung removed because of carcinoid tumours,” she said. “Her whole right lung was full of them. My step father, Mum’s second husband, he passed away due to lung cancer and also my brother has terminal cancer now. He was diagnosed at the beginning of 2021. And my sister and I have both got COPD related issues.”

Pat Oakley said they only learned the family home at Denham was full of crumbling asbestos products when she and her late mother, Ada Fossa, tried to buy the Homewest house in 2017.

“He advised us that the bathroom, toilet and laundry would be made from materials that contained asbestos which surprised us, we were a bit shocked about that,” she said. “So he took us for a walk around the house and pointed out that there was asbestos in the eves and also a possiblity of asbestos being in the stick on floor tiles and also outside.”

Ms Oakley said tradesmen now had to wear full PPE when they worked on the house.

UPDATE:

Department of Communities acting executive director Fiona Fischer said they had been aware of asbestos at the property.

“Asbestos products in a bonded state are not considered a health risk to residents and is an appropriate building material to remain in place,” she wrote.

“All tenants are provided with a copy of the asbestos register for their property.”

Ms Fossa’s daughter Pat Oakley said they had not been provided with a copy.

Ms Fischer said all contractors are required to check the asbestos registers before attending a property as a condition of their contract. “The Department of Communities does not believe remedial work is required and there are no plans to demolish the property,” she wrote.