Parkitects

On Thursday afternoon, 7th December small amounts of a suspicious material were found when the garden beds were being built at a new playground in Brisbane Street, Oxley Park.

Council employees followed policy and procedure and stopped work, calling in independent specialists RMA who removed all the material. Later that afternoon it was suspected to be bonded asbestos and the park was fenced off with webbing material awaiting a further report from the consultants.

The report was received on Tuesday 12th December confirming the material to be bonded asbestos and recommending, as a precaution, further subsurface investigation including some excavation on the site. Council erected a 1.8m fence on Wednesday to prohibit access to the park.

The investigation and any required remediation work will take 4-5 days and, due to the Christmas/New Year holiday period, will commence on 8th January. The park is a safe area with no further material on the surface and it has been fenced in preparation for the next stage of work.

Council has strict policies and procedures with regards to asbestos, no matter how small the amount may be. Council’s first priority is the safety of the community and Council employees.

Further information on bonded asbestos can be found at:http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/factsheets/Pages/asbestos-and-health-risks.aspx

Please contact Brian Steffen on 4732 7551.