Buildings, parks and roads in the heart of Canberra will be surveyed for asbestos, after the National Capital Authority conceded it did not have accurate information on the presence of the potentially-dangerous material across its estate.
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Sections of Commonwealth Park, the Carillon and Commonwealth Place are among 42 locations set to be inspected, according to new tender documents.
The authority has published a tender calling for a consultant to conduct a "hazardous material management survey" of land and assets under its control.
The successful tenderer - which would be paid $250,000 - would be required to audit existing asbestos management plans in place across the authority's estate, before completing on-site inspections.
Air fibre monitoring would be conducted at sites where friable asbestos is detected, the documents stated. Any area where there is a risk of exposure would be remediated.
In the tender documents, the authority stated that its various asbestos management plans were not "current and have not been maintained with accurate data".
It stated that, due to the "possible exposure of asbestos for workers and/or the public stemming from inaccurate data", it was necessary to maintain up to date information.
The survey would ensure that the authority "maintained" its compliance with work safety regulations, which required that asbestos management plans were "prepared, kept up-to-date and reviewed as necessary at least every five years".
A list of the sites scheduled for inspection, included in the tender documents, shows five have hazardous material management plans dating back more than five years.
When asked if the authority was therefore in breach of its legislative requirements, a spokeswoman said all of its management plans were "still in date".
The Canberra Times sought further clarification on this point, given it was the authority's own documents which stated the data was not current or accurate.
Responding to that question, the spokeswoman said: "The authority is seeking the successful tenderer to refresh all documentation in a consistent format across the National Capital Estate, within a defined time period."
"Further, the authority will receive digitised records via this comprehensive survey, including geospatial attributes, to enhance ongoing record-keeping efforts in a new, centralised NCA asset management system.
"This ensures that the NCA is continually improving its business practices in accordance with legislative requirements."
The survey is scheduled to be completed by October 31.
The Canberra Times last month reported that the ACT government had threatened some of the remaining Mr Fluffy property owners with a $15,000 fine if they did not obtain an independent asbestos contamination report within weeks.
The report includes an asbestos management plan for the property. WorkSafe ACT commissioner Greg Jones said the order was made in the interests of community safety.