Asbestos concerns in Sunshine North

The Victorian Government is responding to community concerns relating to asbestos in Sunshine North – Victoria’s western suburbs. Concerns relate to the past asbestos production at the Wunderlich factory in McIntyre Rd, Sunshine North, which closed in 1982; and the current reports of asbestos materials found in the area. After testing was undertaken, it was confirmed that asbestos was found in 5 roof cavities, but was of a size that could not be breathed in and did not pose any health risk to homeowners unless disturbed. EPA Victoria and an occupational hygienist re-tested 6 Sunshine North homes situated near the former Wunderlich site on October 24 2014 to further assess the risk and to reduce the anxiety of homeowners told through the media their homes contained “deadly asbestos”. Results showed:

No detectable asbestos in indoor air samples.

No detectable asbestos in samples collected from soils. In 5ive of the 6 homes, while asbestos was detected in roof spaces, it was not breathable and posed negligible or low health risk to homeowners. These results have been provided, and explained, to individual residents; further testing of roof cavities, soil and air is being planned for other nearby houses to inform the Expert Advisory Panel set up by the Victorian Government. The Victorian Government is working with Brimbank Council to keep the community informed of the steps being taken to investigate and respond to these concerns.