The NSW Government has established an Asbestos Taskforce to give more resources and support to the state’s Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) investigation into the asbestos contamination that was detected in mulch used across various locations in Sydney. The discovery of asbestos contamination earlier this month prompted immediate action from local councils, the EPA and the Department of Education.

Led by Carolyn Walsh, the current Chair of the NSW Asbestos Coordination Committee, the taskforce will also include senior representatives of several NSW Government agencies, as well as local government. The Premier and Minister for the Environment have also activated a surge workforce to assist the EPA, as the scale of the investigation continues to grow. Additional staff from the Natural Resources Access Regulator and NSW Fire and Rescue will also be deployed to the EPA to increase capacity, along with the EPA’s expanded workforce on the investigation.

The taskforce will help coordinate government agencies and help prioritise sites considered to be of highest risk to the public, to ensure all resources are available to secure and remediate sites. It will also support the EPA to ensure the environmental risks to public land are appropriately managed, as the EPA conducts its criminal investigation into any breaches of the law. The NSW Government is also considering regulatory changes to strengthen penalties and deterrence. Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe said the government’s main priority is to finish contact tracing the supply chain, so that any potential receiver of the mulch is identified — this will enable the taskforce to take immediate action to make the area safe.

“This is the largest investigation the Environment Protection Authority has undertaken in recent decades. The complex, criminal investigation involves multiple lines of enquiry. The surge workforce means we can get to the bottom of the supply chain much faster,” Sharpe said.

Clare Collins, Chair of the Asbestos Education Committee, has urged the public not to panic but to avoid mulched areas until sites have been inspected and cleared of possible asbestos contamination. Collins also encouraged the public to contact their local council immediately if they observe what they suspect to be pieces of bonded asbestos in a public place. “According to reports, the bonded or non-friable asbestos identified in mulch are pieces of broken asbestos-cement sheeting known as fibro, which most likely came from building demolition sites. However, how this occurred on such a significant scale at so many sites, is the real question to be explored,” Collins said.

While there is a lot of community concern and confusion surrounding the discovery of bonded asbestos, the NSW Government has assured the public that it will continue to carry out “contact tracing” down the complex supply chain, then facilitate testing, reporting and management of any positive results. SafeWork NSW, NSW Health and the Public Works Advisory will also provide support.

“There’s a lot of community concern and confusion surrounding these bonded asbestos finds in 23 public locations (to date) because people are unsure of how dangerous non-friable asbestos pieces are, what the materials might look like, what the risks to health are and what to do if they come across it. Fibro debris is usually a light grey or a dirty colour (especially when mixed with soil or leaf matter) — it resembles flat broken cement with the tell-tale golf ball-like dimpling on one side, and will often have jagged edges where it has been broken and may have old paint on the non-dimpled side,” Collins said.

Collins also warned homeowners that asbestos debris could be closer to home than they might think, as it is not uncommon to find fibro debris left over from the original build or renovations at residential properties built before 1990 including brick, weatherboard, fibro or clad homes. It can also be found in garden beds, loose under homes and under concrete paths.

According to the Asbestos Education Committee, fibro was the most common non-friable asbestos-containing building material produced before a complete asbestos ban was enacted in Australia in December 2003. Non-friable asbestos cannot be crumbled, pulverised or reduced to a powder by hand pressure when dry; it is considered low-risk when undisturbed, sealed, wet or damp.

However, while the asbestos identified in mulch in a majority of locations has been determined to be non-friable, Collins said it is “extremely concerning” that friable asbestos was identified in a Surry Hills park frequented by locals. Friable asbestos can be extremely dangerous; it can be crumbled, pulverised or reduced to a powder by hand pressure. If its fibres become airborne and inhaled, it poses significant health risks. Non-friable asbestos can also become friable if damaged, demolished or exposed to the elements in unsealed fibre sheeting and is also common to aged, brittle corrugated asbestos-cement roofing.

An update from the EPA, released on 20 February 2024, revealed that the investigation into asbestos-contaminated mulch returned six positive results and more than 100 negative results in the past day. There are now a total of 47 positive sites, with 796 tests returning negative results since 10 January.

The City of Sydney Council reported one sample of friable asbestos and several samples for bonded asbestos in mulch at Bicentennial Park 1, Glebe, which is part of the Glebe foreshore area. The EPA is awaiting further details from those test results, but the council has fenced off the affected area of the parklands. Five other sites returned positive results for bonded asbestos, including North Rosebery Park, Rosebery (site is secured); a private aged care facility in St Ives (site is being secured); an industrial area in Rouse Hill (site is being secured); a private property (not publicly accessible); and Mary Mackillop Catholic Parish, Oran Park (site is secured).

Mary Mackillop Catholic Parish is in close proximity to St Justin’s Catholic Parish Primary School and St Benedict’s Catholic College in Oran Park; while mulch has only been identified on Parish property, precautionary testing will be conducted at both schools. Precautionary testing will also be conducted at four hospitals, including Westmead Hospital, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital and Nepean Hospital, as well as two ambulance stations in Tumut and Woy Woy. Impacted areas at these sites will be cordoned off.

The EPA has also assured households that only a small number of residential properties have tested positive to bonded asbestos in mulch. The EPA is also providing a licensed asbestos assessor and, if necessary, a contractor to remove the mulch.

Greens MP and spokesperson for the Environment Sue Higginson called for an “urgent and at scale” mobilisation of resources, led by the NSW Government, to discover how many mulch businesses have been distributing asbestos to schools, hospitals and playgrounds.

“We knew two weeks ago that the asbestos at the Rozelle Parklands was just the tip of the iceberg and that more contamination discoveries were inevitable. The Environment Protection Authority is responding as best they can, but the sheer scale of this issue cannot be overstated. Around 13% of mulch tested by the EPA over the last 2 weeks has returned positive results for asbestos. This is unacceptably high and we don’t even know how many mulch providers may be dealing with contaminated materials, let alone where else asbestos will turn up in the coming weeks and months,” Higginson said.

Higginson also called for a moratorium on the movement of materials that may be contaminated, to prevent more asbestos from being distributed while the EPA is chasing down leads. “The former government ignored these issues when they were first raised, they prioritised corporate interests over community and environmental safety. NSW needs to urgently start tracing potentially contaminated materials and consider how we solve this issue. Investment in a circular economy that is informed by human and environmental safety and backed up with rigorous liability and enforcement is the only way we can tackle this issue,” Higginson said.

By Ashna Mehta

Image credit: iStock.com/Daria Nipot