Council under fire over warnings as Sydney asbestos investigation spreads

3 hours ago 2

Liverpool City Council is under fire over its response to the discovery of asbestos in a south-west Sydney park near a school and its haphazard warning to residents, as investigators examine whether more sites have been contaminated.

The council removed about 520 tonnes of soil from Pye Hill Reserve in Cecil Hills, supplied by landscaper company HiQ Cecil Park as part of the reserve’s refurbishment, after a resident reported the suspected asbestos.

Asbestos signage and closure at Rickard Road in Chipping Norton.

The council closed off a portion of the reserve near a playground, school and houses on August 29 – 12 days after a resident raised concerns, more than a week after its asbestos management officer was alerted and three days after the presence of asbestos was confirmed on August 26. The reserve was deemed cleared of asbestos on October 3 and reopened.

During a post-work inspection of the reserve on Friday, the council discovered two more areas containing asbestos. The areas have been fenced off with signage, and arrangements have been made to remove the material.

Council closed part of a footpath along Rickard Road in Chipping Norton on October 7 after discovering HiQ Cecil Park had supplied soil to the site. Part of the site remains closed for asbestos testing, and no results have been released yet.

Liverpool City Council chief executive Jason Breton said the incident is now subject to investigation by state regulators.

Liverpool Council confirmed an email from a concerned resident flagging asbestos was received three days before it was passed to the asbestos management officer.

“The source of the contamination and the reason why it had a certificate is currently under investigation by the NSW Environment Protection Authority and SafeWork NSW,” he said.

The council said a resident raised concerns on August 17 and “the suspicion was confirmed” three days later when the asbestos management officer launched “a detailed investigation”.

Liverpool MP Charishma Kaliyanda criticised the council for not adequately notifying nearby residents of the asbestos.

“When something as concerning as asbestos is found, residents want reassurance,” she said. “My office has received a number of complaints from residents in the area surrounding Pye Hill Reserve who said that they received no correspondence, no information or details.”

The council said it had sent letters to residents informing them of the asbestos, but that it had missed one street adjoining the reserve.

“Council apologises for the oversight,” a spokesperson said. “All asbestos-affected areas of the park were fenced off once asbestos was confirmed, and warning signs were posted … all users of the reserve were warned about the presence of asbestos.”

On its website, HiQ Cecil Park states that it is licensed to accept asbestos waste. When contacted by this masthead, the company said its soil is regularly mixed with other contractors’ material.

“HiQ regularly provides recovered materials to infrastructure contractors, including to the contractors working on the Pye Hill Reserve project,” a HiQ spokesperson said.

“The material used on the Pye Hill Reserve is typically made up of materials received from a range of sources. HiQ was one of the sources for this material. The materials HiQ provides to contractors are commonly mixed by additional contractors with other materials before it is provided to their clients. HiQ does not have visibility into that process.”

HiQ said when the asbestos was discovered, it worked with council to “contain and safely dispose of” the material.

“We are now working to provide EPA NSW with any information we can. As we do this, no material of this type is leaving the site.”

The council said it only contracted soil from HiQ, and that it was not mixed with other sources.

“HiQ was the only supplier of topsoil at Pye Hill Reserve footpath areas and Rickard Road footpath construction, and it has been found to be contaminated despite being supplied to council as being certified contaminant-free and safe for use.”

The EPA said the council notified it of the asbestos at Pye Hill Reserve on September 5. It conducted tests on stockpiled recycled topsoil at HiQ Cecil Park. One sample returned positive for asbestos, prompting the agency to investigate where else this material may have been used in Sydney.

“NSW EPA is investigating both incidents and the supplier of the materials,” a spokesperson said.

The EPA said it has inspected the Pye Hill Reserve site several times since the soil was removed, and confirmed this week that the area is safe.

SafeWork NSW is investigating whether council workers who laid the soil were exposed to asbestos at both sites.

“SafeWork NSW inspectors have responded and are investigating the actions taken by council to ensure its workers are not exposed to asbestos when doing any work at Pye Hill Park,” a spokesperson for the regulator said.

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