Rubble contaminated with asbestos needs to be removed from dozens of Fleurieu Peninsula properties

Rubble contaminated with asbestos at a council-owned recycling depot needs to be removed from dozens of Fleurieu Peninsula properties.

Rubble contaminated with asbestos at a council-owned rubbish dump has been used at dozens of South Coast properties in the past three years.

Fleurieu Regional Waste Authority (FWRA) has set aside $300,000 to begin removing the contaminated material from 71 properties registered with environmental consultants Greencap.

The contamination occurred last September when asbestos was mixed into concrete, bricks, cement sheets and Stobie poles which was crushed into road base aggregate at the authority’s Goolwa waste transfer station.

FRWA executive officer Simon Grenfell said the contaminated material had been sold until March from recycling depots at Goolwa, Strathalbyn and Yankalilla.

The authority issued a public alert when asbestos fragments were found during an inspection of a 5000-tonne stockpile of the aggregate at the recycling depot, with tests finding it was present in random samples.

The asbestos was dumped at the Goolwa recycling depot operated by the Fleurieu Regional Waste Authority. Picture: iStock

Mr Grenfell said further investigations found there had been previous contamination of road aggregate with asbestos late last year.

“Assessment of properties that were impacted by the asbestos contaminated recycled road base found some properties contained recycled road base material produced by the authority in December, 2018,” he said.

“This also has been found to contain small quantities of asbestos.”

Mr Grenfell said the material had been used on farm tracks, driveways, sheds and under houses across the Fleurieu Peninsula.

“The contamination of recycled road base material is an unfortunate incident the Fleurieu Regional Waste Authority is working with the EPA to resolve,” he said.

Mr Grenfell said the authority’s consultants, Greencap, were inspecting properties as owners registered through a hotline.

Some property owners had approved remediation plans prepared by Greencap, with work to remove the contaminated rubble due to start this week.

The total cost of removing the contaminated from dozens of properties across the Fleurieu Peninsula is not yet known. Picture: iStock

“The authority has undertaken over 40 inspections and is about to commence removing contaminated material from affected properties,” said Mr Grenfell.

“The cost to recover the contaminated crushed rock is unknown and won’t be until all properties are identified and remediated.

“As the road base material has been used for a number of different purposes a tailored remediation plan is required for each property.”

Mr Grenfell said dust suppressant had been used on one unsealed road which was patched with the contaminated rubble by Alexandrina Council.

“It is scheduled for another application of dust suppressant in the next week, prior to the material being removed and replaced in late July or early August,” he said.

Mr Grenfell said anyone who bought road base aggregate from the authority’s depots since late 2018 should contact the FWRA hotline on 0413 703 705.

“We encourage anyone who has purchased this material to visit our website and contact our hotline so inspections and removal of the material can be arranged,” he said.

Mr Grenfell said while new measures had been introduced to prevent asbestos going into the crushing machine at Goolwa, it was important people did not take it to the depot.

“The authority also urges everyone undertaking home renovations to be aware of the requirements of handling and disposing of asbestos and if unsure to contact a licensed professional,” he said.

The Fleurieu Waste Regional Authority is made up of the Victor Harbor, Alexandrina, Yankalilla and Kangaroo Island councils.