Council slammed for 'pathetic' safety attempt amid city's asbestos problem
As the cost to 'detect and analyse' asbestos-infected parks in one Sydney LGA blows out to over $200,000, locals have lashed out.
Remediation work to identify and remove all of the asbestos currently scattered around parks in Sydney is likely to take months to complete, with the cost already blowing out over $200,000 in one LGA alone as frustrated locals brand the ongoing saga "a disgrace".
So far asbestos has been detected in mulch at 75 different sites around the Greater Sydney area, with almost two dozen of those found within the City of Sydney LGA. The NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deployed some 130 officers who have investigated at locations around the city, two months after asbestos was first found in mulch in the Inner West by a parent in mid-January.
Since then, it's been detected in schools, in landscaping materials in parks, hospitals, infrastructure and even in a small number of suburban back yards. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, a spokesperson for the City of Sydney said the cost of testing has already eclipsed $200,000, with that figure likely to grow as more sites are identified.
As contaminated sites mount, locals call for transparency
"We are testing mulch at potentially impacted parks and garden beds in our area identified through the Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) supply chain investigation," the spokesperson told Yahoo. "Affected areas have been fenced off and signs installed. The majority of identified parks have been tested and remediation is underway at several sites.
"We expect remediation to take several months. We understand there may be delays in obtaining remediation services given the number of sites across greater Sydney identified by the EPA’s investigation."
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Meanwhile, locals living near testing sites have aired their frustration over the time it's taken to have the area cleared or sealed, with people taking aim at councils for the "unsafe" and "disgraceful conditions". Earlier this week, after a person posted an image of what they described as a "pathetic attempt at sealing off" an asbestos testing site in Surry Hills, others joined in and called for greater transparency.
"So City of Sydney puts up signs saying possible asbestos, and this pathetic attempt at sealing off, and we hear no updates for several weeks. Is the Council for real? What’s the update?" a man questioned in relation to the barrier in Devonshire St, Surry Hills, pictured above.
"It’s an absolute disgrace," another wrote. "Every resident that lives in Surry Hills should be writing to City of Sydney. We should boycott paying rates until they fix this."
'Not enough signage'
Others claimed "they'd seen no signage" to warn the public of the possible contamination, with one local councillor also weighing in.
"The City is telling councillors as much as the public, and sadly — the Lord Mayor is refusing my request to ensure every park is tested," Labor Councillor Linda Scott said.
Company linked to asbestos spread appeals ban
The mulch associated with sites found to have been contaminated by asbestos is believed to have been largely supplied by Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility (GRRF), who distributed it to contractors and landscapers.
GRRF issued a statement last month to say EPA testing of 12 samples of its mulch in mid-January found it be free of asbestos contamination. "GRRF remains confident that when its mulch is delivered to contractors for landscaping it is free of asbestos," the statement said.
GRRF has since launched a legal bid to continue producing and supplying mulch it was banned from producing it at its Bringelly production facility in western Sydney, after asbestos detections were traced back to the site.
The EPA issued a prevention notice in January requiring the company to immediately cease production. But lawyers for the agency appeared in the Land and Environment Court on Friday to launch a legal bid challenging that order.
Yahoo News Australia has contacted the EPA for an update on the asbestos removal process around the city, and for clarification with regard to how many sites have, as of this week, tested positive.
In relation to the site pictured at Surry Hills, a City of Sydney spokesperson was unable to answer whether it contained asbestos, but pointed toward their website, which had the area listed as "identified for testing".
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