Deadly discovery at Aldi supermarket as asbestos sites grow in Sydney: What you need to know
Asbestos has been confirmed in more locations in Sydney as three schools await results.
Domremy College in Five Dock in Sydney’s inner west became the fifth school to be confirmed asbestos after a number of sites were tested after it was found in mulch at Liverpool West Public School earlier in February.
The college will remain open on Monday and the contaminated site has been isolated and cordoned off.
Results have yet to be confirmed at three schools in Sydney’s south-west: Edmondson Park Public School, Mount Annan Christian College in Currans Hill and Trinity Catholic Primary School in Kemps Creek.
“We understand this may be distressing for these school communities, but these results are expected later today,” NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA) said in a statement on Monday.
In Sydney’s west, St Luke’s Catholic College in Marsden Park has decided to close this week, while Penrith Christian School in Orchard Hills remains open and its contaminated site fenced after asbestos discoveries at the two schools were confirmed on Sunday.
Liverpool West remains closed as students are offered face-to-face education at the nearby Gulyangarri Public School, where Ministry of Education Secretary Murat Dizdar will visit on Monday.
An Aldi supermarket in Cobbitty, southwest of Sydney, will reopen once a contaminated site there is contained.
A site at the Riverstone Sports Center and a shared path area along the Parramatta Light Rail project at Telopea in Sydney’s northwest will also be undermined on Monday.
Asbestos has been confirmed at three other locations that the EPA has not made public for privacy reasons because they are not publicly accessible.
More than 40 locations, including schools, hospitals and parks, are contaminated with asbestos contained in recycled mulch.
NSW fire and rescue crews inspected more than 120 locations identified by the service this weekend.
More than 90 percent of mulch identified as possibly containing asbestos has been tested, Prime Minister Chris Minns told ABC Radio on Monday.
“We’re nearing the end, so I don’t want people to think it won’t end,” he said.
Asbestos has now also been found in the topsoil of parks, a hospital and a school stretching from the CBD to the Emu Plains at the foot of the Blue Mountains, and from Parramatta to Campbelltown.
The government is considering possible increases in fines.
“We will put the systems in place to ensure that if fines are imposed, it is not just the cost of doing business for these large companies,” Mr Minns said.
Some parts of Sydney Olympic Park are being tested again ahead of a big weekend of concerts in the entertainment district.
The Prime Minister said this should not pose a threat to upcoming events, especially Taylor Swift’s shows in the coming days.
The EPA is investigating a complicated supply chain and how the mulch became contaminated.
EPA Chief Executive Tony Chappel said Sunday that the investigation would conclude with a full report to the public, but cautioned against prematurely attributing blame.
The agency was required to issue a notice to Greenlife Resource Recovery that prevented it from supplying more mulch, which it is currently complying with, Mr Chappel said.
The company is contesting the prevention order in court.
Greenlife’s mulch has been independently tested by accredited laboratories and the company was confident it left its facility free of contamination, it said in a statement on Friday.
Asbestos contamination has been confirmed at another school in Sydney