Samples of mulch potentially contaminated with asbestos have been collected from a landscape supplies yard in Pialligo for testing, with the results expected sometime in the next 24 hours.
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Anyone who believes they might have purchased the mulch has also been urged to contact the government taskforce responding to the problem, which on Tuesday revealed the mulch had been sold to smaller retailers and more customers may be identified through an audit of purchase records.
The mulch at Stonehenge Beltana was sampled for laboratory asbestos testing on Monday, after the territory government confirmed the mulch had come into the ACT from a Sydney business linked to multiple contaminated sites in NSW.
Matthew Kamarul, from the ACT Environment Protection Authority, said further testing was expected to continue on Tuesday and into the coming days.
"The intention is to continue testing through a triaged approach. So whether or not that first batch that is tested is found to be positive, continued testing across key sites will be undertaken," Mr Kamarul said.
Beltana Stonehenge had also sold the mulch to smaller retailers, and Mr Kamarul said it was possible more customers would be identified through an audit of purchase records.
"The process of audit will be to work with those small retailers to identify where and if they have sold on mulch that they have purchased," he said.
"That taskforce is working through that presently, and that work will be ongoing over the next seven days."
The Environment Protection Authority is leading a taskforce alongside WorkSafe ACT and other areas of the ACT government to respond to issues posed by the potentially contaminated mulch.
The government on Monday said the mulch was sold on to 24 companies and had been delivered to 27 addresses across Canberra.
About 25 cubic metres of the mulch remained at the Pialligo business' yard. The mulch is subject to a WorkSafe ACT prohibition notice.
Stonehenge Beltana sold the product that was supplied from Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility, a south-west Sydney business, between March and November 2023. The facility has been linked to multiple contamination sites across Sydney.
The government has thanked Stonehenge Beltana for the company's assistance.
Mr Kamarul said anyone who believed they had purchased the potentially contaminated mulch should contact Access Canberra by telephoning 13 22 81.
"The key takeaway is not to disturb [the mulch] and contact the task force," he said.
No locations where the potentially contaminated mulch was distributed in Canberra have been released publicly.
The government on Monday said the public health risk posed by bonded asbestos was low, and the risk the mulch had been used on public sites managed by the ACT government was low.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
