Asbestos detected in three new locations near Rozelle Parklands

Mulch containing asbestos has been discovered at three more locations near Rozelle Parklands in Sydney’s inner west, with the use of the contaminated material more widespread than originally thought.

Transport for NSW confirmed the discovery with 10 areas in Rozelle now having tested positive for asbestos, including five in the children’s playground and two in a section of the parklands inaccessible to the public.

This gardenbed on Lilyfield Road, unfenced before Saturday, is the latest to be found to contain asbestos.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The three new sites are all landscaped garden beds near footpaths and bike paths, and are located on either side of Lilyfield Road as it meets Victoria Road, and on James Craig Road towards Anzac Bridge.

They were closed off to the public after six samples tested positive for bonded asbestos late on Friday. All contaminated areas are related to the Rozelle Interchange project.

Bonded asbestos is considered to be low-risk compared to friable asbestos, which can be easily crushed into a powder and become airborne.

But Bill Ryall, a former Environment Protection Authority-accredited site auditor who has worked on some of the city’s most significant contamination incidents, said on Saturday that the risk to locals may increase if the asbestos-containing materials became weathered or disturbed.

In fragments that are aged or have been subject to fire or acid rain, which he said was common in the Sydney Metro area, “asbestos fibres may be easily liberated”.

“[If] fragments are degraded, there is a heightened risk that asbestos fibres may be liberated during excavation of the contaminated mulch. Liberated fibres may be carried over long distances by wind,” he said.

He called on Transport for NSW and the EPA to provide details of the specific type of asbestos present in the fragments.

Transport for NSW said it had been transparent about the asbestos findings and was continuing to monitor for airborne particles at the park.

This garden bed on Lilyfield Road was also shut due to the asbestos discovery.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The material was first detected in the area on Tuesday after a parent discovered asbestos in mulch their child brought home from the Rozelle Parklands playground. The park was closed to the public the next day.

On Friday, the EPA ordered that all the contaminated mulch be removed by Transport for NSW, and visited the supplier, Greenlife Resource Recovery.

A December audit report of the site found contaminants including asbestos, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and toxic heavy metals 30 centimetres under the soil around the site. The same audit warned that asbestos may be present in the capping layer between the soil and the park’s surface.

The audit said the capped soil would need to be inspected every six months to ensure the site was safe.

Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said early inquiries indicated the mulch had been limited in its use outside of Rozelle, though warned the mulch is commercially available and widely used.

More than 85 samples from Rozelle Parklands and surrounding areas relating to the Rozelle Interchange project have been tested by independent contamination and remediation experts, of which 13 samples returned positive results for traces of bonded asbestos.

Further analysis will be completed in the coming days, the government said.

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