00:00 Seven schools across Sydney have been identified as potential contamination sites today following
00:07 supply line tracing of garden mulch containing asbestos.
00:12 Along with the International Grammar School here in the inner city, two public primary
00:16 schools in Sydney's north and four private schools in the city's west will be tested
00:21 today.
00:22 Sydney's already had one primary school test positive for asbestos.
00:26 Students of Liverpool West Public School have been learning from home as the contaminated
00:31 mulch is removed from school grounds there.
00:34 Now just because these seven Sydney schools have been identified as potential contamination
00:38 sites, that doesn't necessarily mean they have asbestos.
00:41 Since this contamination crisis began, most places that have been tested for asbestos
00:46 and identified as areas of concern have come back negative.
00:50 It's understood that all schools except for one, St Luke's Catholic College, will remain
00:55 open today as testing takes place.
00:58 Parents here at the International Grammar School will find out soon whether or not this
01:03 area is the latest contamination site.
01:06 Well I think it's a problem because it seems like it's spreading all around Sydney.
01:11 So I'm pleased that the school is doing some testing because that will keep our children
01:14 safe.
01:15 I'm hoping that the council and the waste management is properly addressing it properly.
01:22 So I don't really have two huge concerns at the moment.
01:26 When you hear about the things that can happen with asbestos and sort of the cancer and things
01:30 like that that it can cause, always worried.
01:32 But I mean, until they find something, you keep going and you keep, yeah, live your life
01:39 I guess.
01:40 Yesterday, the state government announced it would be launching a new task force specifically
01:45 focused on tackling this asbestos crisis.
01:48 Over the coming days and weeks, it's expected that the task force will contact TRACE, the
01:53 contaminated mulch, and hopefully find out its origin.
01:56 There's been additional resources deployed to the Environmental Protection Authority
02:00 to help them deal with this issue.
02:03 Around 130 people are now on the case there and the EPA says this has now become the biggest
02:08 investigation in the organisation's history.
02:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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