Hundreds of potential asbestos contamination sites in Sydney as Liverpool West Public School shut down for weeks

A primary school will be shut for weeks after an asbestos contamination, as it was revealed there could be hundreds of impacted sites across Sydney, including hospitals and parks.

Asbestos could potentially be contaminating hundreds of sites across Sydney, including schools, hospitals and parks.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the government did not have the resources to tape off all potential contamination sites while testing was conducted.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said 200 sites had been tested by the Environment Protection Authority, with 20 positive for asbestos including parks, infrastructure sites, rail corridors, a school and a hospital.

Asbestos could be contaminating hundreds of sites across Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

A widespread asbestos contamination has now impacted a popular annual festival in Sydney. Mardi Gras Fair Day has been cancelled four days out from the event after asbestos was discovered in Victoria Park. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

A taskforce has been set up to give more resources to the EPA’s investigation into asbestos in garden mulch.

“This is the largest investigation the Environment Protection Authority has undertaken in recent decades,” Ms Sharpe said on Thursday.

“The complex, criminal investigation involves multiple lines of enquiry.

“Our number one priority is to finish contract tracing the supply chain – so that any potential receiver of the mulch is notified. “That means we can take immediate action to make the area safe.

“I am also taking advice on options to strengthen penalties for those who do the wrong thing.”

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said 200 sites had been tested, with 20 positive for asbestos. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

A taskforce has been set up to give more resources to the EPA’s investigation. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

The taskforce will be led by NSW Asbestos Coordination Committee chair Carolyn Walsh and will include senior representatives of several NSW government agencies, as well as local government.

The taskforce will meet for the first time on Friday.

All of the contaminated mulch found so far originated from Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility.

Liverpool West Public School students will be relocated to a different school for a few weeks. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar

Liverpool West Public School in Sydney’s west closed for two days at the start of the week when asbestos was found in garden mulch but will likely be closed for a lot longer as clean-up efforts drag on.

Education Minister Prue Car revealed the closure would be extended for a number of weeks for more extensive remediation work needed to clear the contaminated mulch.

Speaking with Today on Thursday, Ms Car said about 700 students would need to be relocated to Gulyangarri Public School while the clean-up continued.

“Extremely disappointing is an understatement,” she said.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car confirms the school clean-up is underway. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

The students will learn from home for the rest of the week and will start at the new school — a 10 minute drive away — on Monday.

“The NSW government understands how frustrating this must be for parents and teachers at the school and I assure you the decision to temporarily close the school site was not taken lightly,” Ms Car said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We are acting with an abundance of caution and doing so quickly to ensure the safety of the school community.”

She said a serious investigation was underway of the contractor and its supply chain after it was determined metres of mulch were laid by the contractor despite plans advising them to add soil beneath a layer of mulch in the garden bed.

Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility lawyer Ross Fox of Fishburn Watson O’Brien said in a statement on Wednesday that the company was “at risk of being made a scapegoat for failures in a complex supply chain for construction and landscaping projects.”

Mardi Gras Fair Day has been cancelled four days out from the event after asbestos was discovered in Victoria Park. Multiple areas cordoned off with orange barricade fencing throughout the whole park. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Bullard

The Department communicated with families on Wednesday about the next steps in the clean-up process and have been informed there is a low risk.

They said they have been assured it is the only school affected by contamination.

Three additional locations have been found to contain bonded asbestos as of Wednesday and the EPA is working with the owners of these sites to ensure they are secured and present little risk to the public.

The school shut down comes on the same day as Mardi Gras organisers announced they have been forced to cancel their annual Fair Day event at Victoria Park after contaminated mulch was found late last week.