IN light of the current investigations for contaminated mulch found in school grounds and parks around Syndey, Indpendent Member for Wagga Wagga, Dr Joe McGirr has called on the NSW Government to ensure Tumut community is kept fully informed.
He has requested that testing takes place on mulch that could potentially be contaminated with asbestos within the township.
About thirty square metres of mulch has been delivered to the town’s new ambulance station and staff accommodation units near the hospital by a supplier that previously sourced mulch from the company at the centre of contamination cases at multiple sites in Sydney.
It is not yet known whether the mulch at Tumut contains asbestos or whether it has direct connection to the company, but the Environment Protection Authority is testing the mulch as a precautionary measure.
The site has been taped off and no public access is allowed while the testing continues.
“While the potential for asbestos contamination in mulch at Tumut is obviously of significant concern, it’s important to note that the testing is precautionary at this stage,” Dr McGirr said.
“I’m working closely with the Health Department and EPA to ensure that the results of that testing are made available to the community as soon as possible and have been advised that the testing has been fast-tracked and the results should be provided by today.
“In the meantime, members of the public should avoid the site and follow all safety precautions,” Dr McGirr said.
“Health authorities hope this will prove to be a low-risk situation that has no connections with the company involved in the contamination issue, but the testing and site isolation is being undertaken out of an abundance of caution to minimise any potential risk to the Tumut community.
As of yesterday EPA investigation into asbestos contaminated mulch has returned positive results for seven sites in the past day and negative results for three sites.
The total number of positive sites is 54.
At the time of going press the Health Infrastructure on behalf of MLHD had not returned inquiries regarding the Tumut mulch.
