History, Brockovich said, might be repeating itself in the tiny town of Yarloop, south of Perth, where local residents have complained of health problems they blame on emissions from the nearby Alcoa bauxite refinery.

"We think we live in a big world but it's really smaller than you think," Brockovich told local media on Monday.

"Somebody from the area that was sick, from what they believe to be Alcoa, e-mailed me. I was intrigued with her illnesses and concerned at what she was suffering through."

Alcoa said said the company's Wagerup refinery had been tested independently and found to be safe.

"Wagerup refinery meets the most stringent health and environmental standards in the world," the company said in a statement, offering to brief Brockovich "on any matters that may be of interest to her".

"Alcoa has nothing to hide and will continue to take a transparent and responsible approach to the public release of scientific information about the refinery," the company said.

Brockovich won a US-record $333 million from Pacific Gas after uncovering a scheme to conceal contamination of groundwater in the town of Hinkley. The saga was turned into the film Erin Brockovich, for which Roberts won an Oscar.

Yarloop residents told Brockovich they believed the Alcoa mine was causing breathing problems, skin irritation, chronic fatigue, mental problems, nosebleeds and even cancer over an 11-year period.

An Australian legal firm, Shine Lawyers, based in Queensland state on Australia's east coast has offered to fight the case on behalf of 160 Yarloop residents on a no-win, no-cost basis.

"It's far too early to start talking dollars. What we do know is, something has gone terribly wrong. In terms of how much money would compensate these people for what has happened, the short answer is as many dollars as it takes," Shine Lawyers Partner Simon Morrison told Australian Associated Press.