A confidential Blue Mountains City Council report has outlined 19 council-owned buildings where asbestos is present.
Some of the 19 “high risk” buildings include a pre-school, the sports centre in Katoomba, two cinemas, a caravan park, a neighbourhood centre and a family support service, as well as council’s own depot.
Council said it has undertaken all the immediate actions recommended in the report and that only two of the buildings required immediate removal of material containing asbestos.
The report was prepared by the Centium Group consulting firm – a specialist workplace health and safety service – on May 31 this year, advising “immediate action” was needed to eliminate or minimise exposure to asbestos containing material (ACM). The report was commissioned by council and followed inspections by SafeWork NSW.
Those buildings are: Katoomba Sports and Recreation Centre (Childcare Centre electrical box); Solitary Restaurant (kitchen ceiling space and internal wall); Springwood Council Depot (locker room); Family Support Service, Katoomba (rear yard); Glenbrook Cinema (projector room vinyl sheeting beneath carpet); Katoomba Falls Caravan Park (male toilets internal wall and the ceiling lining in the cleaner’s cupboard); Katoomba Showground (change rooms); Knapsack Park, Glenbrook (garage ceiling lining); Lawson Oval (female toilets ceiling lining); Lomatia Park, Springwood (amenities block); Mt Victoria Hall (projector room ceiling lining); Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre (sub-floor storage room and rear yard); Springwood Arts Centre (kitchen lino); Springwood Council Depot (upper level stairwell); 152 Megalong St, Leura (ceiling space); Storage Shed 2 in Station Street, Katoomba; Upper Mountains Youth Centre, Katoomba (rear patio); Wentworth Falls Pre School (eave linings); and Winmalee Rural Fire Service bushfire station (electrical box).
A Blue Mountains Council spokeswoman said: “In response to recent notifications of Asbestos Containing Material (ACM) on a worksite and community buildings, council has acted in a timely, open and appropriate manner to the satisfaction of SafeWork and council’s independent expert consultant.”
The spokeswoman said “the classification of ‘high risk’ by the consultant does not suggest there is clear and present danger at these locations. Rather, the classification is applied to those locations at which a risk of exposure would be considered high in the event of ACM being disrupted. As the ACM is being managed appropriately at these sites this is not the case”.
She said “the safety, health and wellbeing of our community and employees are paramount … we take asbestos management seriously.”
The report highlights two locations – the Katoomba Family Support Service and the Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre – where there is “asbestos-contaminated soil”. Asbestos contaminated soil must be disposed of according to the regulations of the Environment Protection Authority. In other cases an independent licensed asbestos assessor can remove ACM.
Dr Stephen James, a director with Centium confirmed the information and said Centium was still providing health and safety advice and working on an asbestos management plan for council. “We are advised council has responded to this report and the associated recommendations, in a timely and appropriate manner,” he said.
The report indicates high risk ACM was either friable and not in a stable condition; friable but stable and accessible; or bonded but broken, damaged or unstable. Friable ACM is any material that contains more than one percent asbestos by weight or area and, depending on whether it is a bulk or sheet material, can be crumbled by hand.
The report said access be restricted in high risk locations by erecting barriers or locking doors with appropriate signage to warn workers of the (potential) presence of ACM.
The council spokeswoman said the need to identify and manage ACM in public facilities was a challenge faced by councils across NSW. Council had “notified affected users/tenants of the buildings/locations that required remediation”.
The spokeswoman said many of the actions recommended had been completed, prior to the SafeWork inspection and prior to the receipt of the report. She said “of the 19 only two immediate actions recommended by Centium required the removal of ACM, being Springwood Depot and Lawson Oval storeroom”.
“There are no restrictions on public access to any building/location identified in the Centium report. Should there be a need to restrict public access ... council will … notify the public, close the affected building and undertake the necessary remediation work.
“Council has had a focus on asbestos management in recent months since becoming aware of the gaps in its records and planning. Council has responded as a matter of priority to improve the overall management of asbestos in council-owned facilities.”
