Following the discovery of asbestos in the mulch on the site of a public school in Sydney’s southwest, about 700 pupils will be moved.
While cleanup is being done, the pupils will be transferred from Liverpool West Public School to Gulyangarri Public School for a minimum of one month.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority claimed that the school was designated as a potentially dangerous location on Friday afternoon upon learning that the same mulch supplier had been used on the campus as the Rozelle Parklands.
The school “definitely has the capacity” to accommodate the flood of kids, according to Health Minister Prue Car, and classes will not be combined.
“My advice is that it’s in no other school locations,” Car stated.
“We take it very seriously when we discover anything like this in the mulch in a playground garden bed.
“We have acted very quickly.”
It coincides with the cancellation of a significant Mardi Gras event because more bonded asbestos has been discovered in mulch in Sydney’s Victoria Park.
The City of Sydney Council declared today that due to public health concerns, the Mardi Gras Fair Day scheduled for Sunday will not take place.
Clover Moore, Sydney’s Lord Mayor, called the decision “incredibly disappointing,” but she also noted that community safety had to come first.
“Once the asbestos problem is fixed, we’ll keep working with Mardi Gras.
The judgement made today emphasises how serious this is.
“The NSW government and the EPA must make sure this never happens again.”
Every year, Fair Day is a significant event on the Mardi Gras calendar, drawing well over 70,000 attendees.
The NSW EPA reportedly informed the council on Monday that testing may have shown asbestos contamination in the mulch at Victoria Park.
But more thorough research disqualified having the Fair Day at the park, even with efforts to clean up the impacted areas.
As of right moment, 22 locations in Sydney have tested positive for asbestos, forcing the closure of parks, construction sites, schools, and train stations.
While an investigation is being conducted to determine the source of the pollution, the EPA has prohibited the mulch supplier from making any more sales.
However, the provider, Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility, claims to have testing proving that the mulch is devoid of asbestos when it leaves their locations.
Premier of NSW Chris Minns declared the state of affairs to be “completely unacceptable” yesterday.
