Questions have been raised as to why specialist firefighters, who are trained in managing hazardous materials (HAZMAT) incidents, weren’t engaged to help the NSW government manage the widespread discovery of asbestos-riddled mulch, until more than a month after the initial discovery.
Over the weekend, Fire Rescue NSW (FRNSW) staff were engaged to test more than 120 sites for traces of asbestos, however a union boss said more prompt action would have helped identify the large-scale problem quicker.
Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) state secretary Leighton Drury questioned why there was a delay in engaging FRNSW, despite the first discovery of the contaminated mulch dating back to January 9.
“While we understand that FRNSW have been involved in discussions with the incident management team as early as January, there appears to have been some reluctance to involve the FRNSW in site testing until now,” he said.
“Our firefighters are trained in important technical skillsets to identify asbestos and are available 24/7 anywhere in the state.
“The speed in which FRNSW have conducted rapid damage assessments (RAD) over the weekend is indicative of the resources at the government’s disposal.”
Mr Drury said given the seriousness of the issue, all levers should have been employed to uncover the full extent of the problem.
“If (FRNSW) were approved earlier, the public would have a full picture of the extent of this problem,” he said.
“I can undertake that fire trucks and hazmat suits may look rather serious. But, these are serious circumstances.”
While the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is leading the investigation into the asbestos contaminated mulch, the government also launched an Asbestos Taskforce to support its probe.
A NSW government spokesperson said the taskforce assisted with “drawing important resources from across government” to aid the investigation, which included utilising help from FRNSW.
“The NSW government established the Asbestos Taskforce to co-ordinate government agencies and assist in prioritising sites considered of highest risk to the public,” they said.
“FRNSW crews have the expertise to safely assess and, where required, collect suspected contaminated waste from a site for further testing by the EPA if necessary.
“FRNSW has boosted assessment efforts and has been assisting the EPA since the Taskforce was announced on 15 February.”
This comes as the contaminated mulch was detected at five schools, with St Luke’s Catholic College in the northwest Sydney suburb of Marsden Park shuttering gates to students for the next week.
Contaminated mulch has been identified across several sites, including parks, hospitals, schools, shopping centres and metro stations, since it was first found at Rozelle Parklands on January 10.
The manufacturer of the contaminated mulch has been identified as Greenlife Resource Facility, which was issued with a Clean-Up Notice by the EPA, and ordered to alert all clients who were supplied with the mulch between March 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.