Mick’s story: the toxic impact of Gippsland’s power stations

On a suburban street outside Traralgon, the serenity is torn by the sound of buzz saws. At Michael ‘Mick’s’ house, carpenters are busy installing a new deck overlooking the garden, where his grandkids love to run around and explore. Inside, Mick sits in a comfy chair surrounded by framed family photos.

“I'm in a better place now than I was last year. Some odd things have happened in the last 12 months,” says Mick, a former sheet metal worker turned lab assistant.

Since retiring in 2016, Mick has travelled frequently with his wife, most often to visit his daughter in New Zealand, and coached high school basketball teams. On weekends, he’d go to swap meets with his brother or tinker with scrap metal, producing creative pieces like a large copper elephant sculpture for his garden made from a recycled hot water service. It was a busy retirement, but in May 2024, Mick noticed he was unusually tired and experiencing chest pains.

A series of medical tests confirmed what Mick already suspected – mesothelioma, an aggressive and terminal type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Because it was detected early, Mick was immediately put on an indefinite course of immunotherapy. The drugs won’t cure him, but they will help keep the cancer at bay and help prolong Mick’s life.

A harmful legacy 

Asbestos exposure wasn’t just limited to those who worked at the station. Workers would return home with contaminated clothing, secondarily exposing their mothers or wives to the harmful dust as they did laundry. Children would play in asbestos dumps around the Power Station area, throwing fibres at each other.

Yallourn Power Station was decommissioned in 1989 and later demolished between 1997 and 1999 due to the amount of asbestos inside it. All that remains today is the concrete foundations, a gatehouse to nowhere, and the former administration building. 

The station may be long gone, but its legacy can still be felt. According to a 2003 study, Latrobe Valley workers developed mesothelioma at seven times the Victorian state average. Data from the national Mesothelioma Register indicates power station workers exposed 30 to 50 years ago (in Victoria and elsewhere in Australia) have the second-highest lifetime mesothelioma risk. 

An early Christmas present

Mick only discovered how toxic asbestos could be after news reports circulated in the 1980s, nearly a decade after he worked at the station. The possibility of an asbestos-related diagnosis dogged him his whole working life, and he had his lungs checked regularly after he retired. When the first growth appeared on a scan, he was shocked but not surprised.

Mick’s doctors referred him to Ross Sottile, a specialist asbestos lawyer at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, to discuss applying for compensation, but Mick was hesitant.

“At my age, I thought compensation would be a long shot, but Ross was off like a greyhound the moment my diagnosis was confirmed. The progress of my claim was extremely quick, and Ross kept in touch the whole time,” says Mick, who found Maurice Blackburn’s ‘No Win, No Fee’ policy reassuring because it meant he could go through the claim process and not worry about legal bills. 

It took just five months to complete Mick’s claim, and the compensation was deposited into his accounts by December – an “early Christmas present” as he puts it. Ross Sottile says the firm’s expertise in asbestos cases gave Mick an advantage and meant his claim could be lodged quickly.

“Mick doesn’t know what the future holds, and that’s why it’s important for him to have this compensation. He’ll need all sorts of support as his condition progresses, and the money might mean he can access new groundbreaking treatments if they become available,” says Ross. 

For now, Mick is using the funds to expand his home and is looking forward to watching his grandchildren run around the garden from his new deck. Ultimately, Mick doesn’t know how much time he’ll have, but in the face of so much uncertainty, his compensation means he won’t be wanting for anything. 

If in doubt, get advice 

Asbestos-related diseases can take anywhere from 15 to 50 years to develop from the date of exposure. Symptoms often become apparent when victims are retired, and at first, they can be dismissed as the normal effects of aging.

If you think you’ve been exposed to asbestos in any setting, Mick says you should start asking questions about your rights as soon as you can, like he did with his treating doctors. 

If you’ve been diagnosed with an asbestos-related condition, speak to a specialist lawyer as soon as you can.

We offer free initial consultations where we can advise you on your potential rights and entitlements to compensation. There’s no obligation to go ahead after this consultation, but if you decide you want to pursue a claim, then we’ll represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis.