Seven schools tested as asbestos found in hospital, supermarket
Seven schools across Sydney have been identified for precautionary testing of asbestos as the city’s contaminated mulch crisis deepens. New site details.
NSW
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Seven schools across Sydney have been identified for precautionary testing of asbestos as the city’s contaminated mulch crisis deepens.
The schools have been identified as having received mulch from the same manufacturer that has supplied mulch to the other 25 contaminated sites, the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) supply chain tracking confirmed on Friday morning.
Inspections commenced on Thursday night and will continue throughout Friday, and there is currently no evidence of asbestos contamination at any of the schools identified.
The schools undergoing testing include Allambie Heights Public School in Allambie Heights, International Grammar School in Ultimo, Mt Annan Christian College in Mt Annan, North Sydney Public School in North Sydney, Penrith Christian School in Orchard Hills, St Luke’s Catholic College in Marsden Park and Westmead Christian Grammar in Westmead.
St Luke’s Catholic College in Marsden Park has closed down the school for the day.
“Those that remain open are advised to keep students and staff away from garden beds in and around the school sites, and to expect to see EPA officers on the ground throughout the day,” the EPA statement read.
“This decision was supported by the NSW Government Asbestos Taskforce, which includes representatives from NSW Health and the Department of Education.
“To date, around 90 per cent of tested sites have returned a negative or clean result. Twenty-four sites have returned a positive result for bonded asbestos, which NSW Health advises is low risk to public health, and one site for friable asbestos.”
EPA CEO Tony Chappel said St Luke’s are taking more time to manage their situation.
“It’s gone into different areas on their campuses, my understanding from all the conversations with my colleagues in education (is that) St Luke’s just want to take a bit more time to work through how they manage that for their students,” Mr Chappel said.
“The other schools are confident they can manage that directly.”
‘THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN EXPOSED’
Lauren Waite, of Allambie Heights, who dropped her daughter Millie, 9, off early for before school childcare, said the school email stated that the suspicious mulch was located in the middle of the school’s large “South Playground”.
Ms Waite said she had “some concerns” that the mulch had been originally dropped off in the school holidays.
“The kids have been back at school for nearly weeks, so they would have been exposed to it,” she said,
“But the school told us that it was not high risk and it would be tested pretty quickly.”
Dad, Enricio Rustia, of Allambie Heights, said he received an email from his sons’ school on Thursday evening, alerting the family that urgent testing of mulch would be taking place.
Mr Rustia, who was dropping Oliver 11 and Riley, 8, at the school on Friday morning, said he felt assured by the information contained in the email, that his children were not in any danger.
“The school outlined where the mulch was located, that it would be fenced off and the kids couldn’t get anywhere near it.
“I felt assured they’ve got it sorted out.”
Amy Thackeray, of Allambie Heights, who was dropping off her son Blake, and his two year 5 classmates Archie Sinclare and Connor Merry, said they heard about the asbestos contamination concerns through news reports on Friday morning.
“I feel like the situation is in good hands here at the school,” Ms Thackeray said.
“If there were any serious concerns for the children’s health I’m sure the school would be closed for the day.”
Concerned parents have been urged to contact their child’s school directly for the most up to date information.
MORE NEW SITES
Other new sites confirmed with positive results for bonded asbestos include St John of God Hospital in North Richmond, Woolworths at Kellyville and a Transport for NSW park at Wiley Park.
The closure comes amid news that asbestos-contaminated mulch forced organisers to pull the plug on one of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival’s major events.
The City of Sydney and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on Wednesday morning announced that their Fair Day event, to be held in Victoria Park this Sunday, will be cancelled. Mardi Gras CEO Gil Beckwith said she appreciated the offer to relocate, but the logistics of moving an event attended by over 70,000 people each year would prove impossible.
Late on Thursday the NSW government brought together a new “asbestos taskforce” for its first meeting, bringing together state, federal and local government authorities to boost the EPA’s capacity.
Mr Chappel said in the “worst case scenario”, contaminated mulch may have been supplied to private and public sites “in the hundreds”.
The mulch in question, manufactured by Greenlife Resource Resource Facility, is not sold “off the shelf”, he said, but onsold through “multiple layers of distribution” to building companies and landscapers.
He urged anybody with concerns about mulch to call the EPA on 131 555: “We have advice there … and we can arrange testing as well.”
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