The ACT will fund Australia’s first detailed long-term health study into the risks of living in houses contaminated with loose-fill asbestos.

The ACT Government commissioned the $415,000 study to be conducted over two years by the Australian National University (ANU) National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health.

The research will look at the rate and distribution of the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma, and assess exposure levels for former and current residents of properties insulated with Mr Fluffy brand asbestos.

Experts have commented on the ACT Government’s plan to buy and demolish houses known to have used Mr Fluffy, saying remediation undertaken in the nineteen-eighties will already have removed the risk for some residents.

ACT Minister for Health Simon Corbell says the new study will define the current state-of-play.

“No-one can say that living in a Mr Fluffy property is without risk, no-one can assure the Government or residents,” Corbell said.

“We don't know if there is any prospect of mesothelioma from people living in Mr Fluffy properties... [and] the level of mesothelioma in the community is low.

“But it is nevertheless important that we undertake this study recognising that the effects can be long-term.”