Lord Mayor Clover Moore said it would have been unreasonable to test the council’s 400 parks and thousands of garden beds “when there was no indication there was an issue”,pointing out the state government did not commence widespread testing either.
Victoria Park remains open with sections fenced off.Nick Moir
But the subsequent discovery of asbestos has led the council to fence several city parks,including Victoria Park,,the opening event of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Labor councillor Linda Scott wrote to the City’s long-serving chief executive Monica Barone on January 13,days after the discovery of asbestos at Rozelle Parklands,asking whether the council used Greenlife Resource Recovery and if the City of Sydney’s parks would be tested.
“I would appreciate if we could do so,given the community concern and serious risk to health as a result of the discovery of asbestos,” Scott wrote. “Residents have contacted me with concerns.”
Six days later,Barone assured colleagues the council “has not sourced mulch for parks and open spaces from Greenlife” in the previous 24 months,and would continue monitoring the situation.
Asbestos was originally found in the mulch at the newly opened Rozelle Parklands in January.Dean Sewell
But on the night of February 12,Barone revealed the NSW Environment Protection Authority had advised the City’s mulch suppliers may have received mulch from Greenlife,and that it should test five parks. Three had revealed positive results.
Scott said Moore had “a lot of explaining to do” and called for an independent investigation. “We could have prevented a month’s worth of exposure to asbestos if my request was carried out,” she said.
Community members and local businesses were “rightly furious” about the cancellation of Mardi Gras Fair Day as this also could have been prevented,Scott said.
But the council argued it was operating on assurances from a contractor that “our supplier did not use the same mulch”. It was only after a month-long investigation that “the EPA discovered a link that indicated the supply used by the City might have been contaminated deep in its supply chain”.
Moore said it was unreasonable for Scott to suggest the council should have tested 400 parks and thousands of flower beds when it had no basis to suspect they were affected by asbestos.
“We have seen over the course of the last couple of days more schools,hospitals and parks affected. If the state government had not been testing these sites prior to the EPA investigation,why is there a separate standard being applied to the City?” Moore said.
“It’s easy for opposition to point the finger of blame to grab a quick headline,but I’m proud of our efficient and effective response to an issue that is not just facing the City,but myriad sites across NSW,and one that will require a comprehensive response from the EPA and state government.”
The EPA has identified several other contaminated sites across Sydney including Campbelltown Hospital,a park in Emu Plains and a garden bed at Liverpool West Public School.
City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has hit back at criticism of the council for not testing hundreds of parks for asbestos.Dion Georgopolous
The agency also notes NSW Health regards non-friable,or bonded,asbestos as low-risk to human health and the environment.
Education Minister Prue Car said on Wednesday the school in Liverpool would need to undergo further remediation work,and pupils will learn on another site for several weeks.
“It is an extremely disappointing situation that we find ourselves in,” Car said. She said the EPA advised Liverpool West was the only school affected by the contaminated mulch at this stage.
with Max Maddison
