If you weren’t living under a rock during January and February of this year, you might remember a little fiasco we like to call asbestos mulch gate: where asbestos-contaminated mulch was discovered in public spaces across the city. Since the initial blow-up (which led to the cancellation of the Mardi Gras Fair Day), things have been a little quiet on the asbestos front – we thought we’d check in and see where things are at.
Last time we took a look at the situation, contaminated mulch had been found at 36 locations across the city, including parks, hospitals and schools. Now, the number of confirmed contaminated sites has risen to 75 across Sydney, after 1,200 samples of mulch were taken for analysis by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
The EPA was first made aware of asbestos-contaminated mulch in the Rozelle Parklands back in January and quickly discovered that bonded asbestos had been used in mulch across several outdoor areas. After eight weeks of testing which saw the EPA track down around 6,500 tonnes of mulch across the city, assessing and testing nearly 1,200 samples – the initial phase of supply chain testing is complete. While most of the asbestos found was bonded (and therefore not likely to enter the airways), a number of sites have been found to be contaminated with more dangerous friable asbestos. All of the contaminated samples found were described by the EPA as having “low” levels of the harmful substance, with NSW Health advising that the health risk is low.
Despite the relatively low risk of the contaminated sites, the EPA is still focused on carrying out the criminal investigation it began when the contaminated mulch was first discovered. The EPA has been supported by the NSW Asbestos Taskforce, which has seen crews from Fire and Rescue NSW, SafeWork, Public Works and the Natural Resources Access Regulator on the ground tackling the fallout from this public space debacle.
As of today (Thursday, March 7), the list of sites with confirmed contamination is as follows:
- Aldi Supermarket, Cobbitty (friable and bonded)
- Belmore Park, Haymarket
- Bicentennial Park 1, Glebe (friable)
- Bicentennial Park 2, Glebe
- Blackwattle Bay Park, Glebe
- Carlingford to Parramatta Shared Path, Telopea
- Construction site in Glenmore Park
- Cook and Phillip Park, Sydney CBD
- Fire and Rescue NSW, Oran Park
- Garden bed, between Callan St and Springside St, Rozelle (friable)
- Giba Park, Pyrmont
- Harmony Park, Surry Hills (friable)
- Harold Park, Forest Lodge
- Industrial area, Rouse Hill
- Industrie Warehouse, Bankstown
- Jubilee Park, Glebe
- Landcom development site, Edmondson Park
- Mary Mackillop Catholic Parish, Oran Park
- Minogue Reserve, Glebe
- Mont Saint Quentin Oval, Bardia
- Munn Park, Millers Point
- New South Erskine Park Zone Substation, Kemps Creek
- North Rosebery Park, Rosebery
- Observatory Hill Park, Millers Point, Sydney
- Pirrama Park, Pyrmont (friable)
- PCYC Indoor Stadium, South Windsor
- Private aged care facility, St Ives
- Private aged care facility, Tahmoor
- Regatta Park, Emu Plains
- Riverstone Sports Centre
- Robyn Kemmis Reserve, Glebe
- Transport for NSW sites, including Rozelle Parklands, the Sydney Metro Sydenham to Bankstown Railway Corridor, Parramatta Light Rail, Prospect Highway Interchange and Nowra Bridge Upgrade
- Two new residential estates under construction in Sydney's south-west (not publicly accessible)
- St James Park, Glebe
- Victoria Park, Camperdown
- Wentworth Park, Glebe
- Wiley Park, cnr Canterbury Rd and King Georges Rd
- Wood Street Lands, Forest Lodge (friable)
- Woolworths, Kellyville Grove Shopping Centre
Those concerned about potential asbestos exposure are encouraged to contact the Environment Line on 131 555, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can learn more about the investigation and view an up-to-date list of contaminated sites over here.