Australia authorities say more Sydney sites tainted with asbestos

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian authorities on Saturday said asbestos had been discovered in more places in Sydney including housing estates as the New South Wales government continues a weeks-long scramble to remove the toxic material from mulch used in public spaces.

The contamination was discovered in January when asbestos was found in a playground in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, and subsequent investigations spotted it in recycled mulch near the park, built above an underground road interchange.

Since then, in what is the biggest investigation by the state’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in decades, 32 city sites have returned positive results for bonded asbestos, the agency said in a statement on Saturday.

The EPA said new sites where asbestos had been detected were a public school and park in the city’s north, and two residential estates under construction in Sydney’s south-west.

The University of Sydney had also been identified as potentially tainted and would be tested this weekend, it said.

“Since 10 January, the EPA has taken almost 300 samples. The rate of positive results is around 10 percent,” the EPA said.

Authorities this week cordoned off areas in several contaminated Sydney parks, forcing the cancellation of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Fair Day event scheduled for Sunday, which usually draws tens of thousands of revellers, after traces of asbestos were found around the venue.

Transport projects, a primary school, a warehouse and a hospital have also been confirmed as contaminated.

In response, the New South Wales government has set up a dedicated asbestos task force to give more resources and support to the EPA as it investigates the widening contamination.

Asbestos became popular in late 19th century as a way to reinforce cement and for fire-proofing, but research later found that the inhalation of asbestos fibres could cause lung inflammation and cancer. It is now banned in much of the world.

(Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Matthew Lewis)