EPA has received confirmation from Hobsons Bay City Council that asbestos contamination has been found at two more of its parks. 

At Laverton Creek at the rear of AB Shaw Reserve in Altona Meadows, contamination found in mulch tested positive for asbestos. The source of the contamination will be investigated.

At Doug Grant Reserve in Altona, fragments also tested positive for asbestos, but the material was in soil in the park, not in the mulch that had been laid.

Hobson’s Bay City Council will now include these sites in its clean-up program at all sites where asbestos-containing material has been confirmed.  Public access will be restricted at each site until cleared by experts engaged by Council.

City of Casey Council has informed EPA it has finished cleaning up Minihans Reserve in Cranbourne and will re-open it once it has received a clearance certificate from its expert. The source of contamination remains under investigation, but EPA believes it is not due to contamination in mulch.  

Test results are pending from potential asbestos fragments taken from five (5) sites in Hobsons Bay City Council.

New information

Hobsons Bay City Council area

Doug Grant Reserve, Altona

After being inspected by suitably qualified expert engaged by Hobsons Bay City Council, pieces of potential asbestos-containing material were taken for priority testing.

The contaminated material was  located on exposed soil and not in the mulch laid at the park.

The source of contamination is unknown and still under investigation.

Laverton Creek (at the rear of AB Shaw Reserve), Altona Meadows

After being inspected by a suitably qualified expert engaged by Hobsons Bay City Council, two (2) samples of potential asbestos-containing material were taken for priority testing.

Asbestos-containing material has been confirmed in mulch at the site.

The mulch producer is known to us and has been inspected and cleared of having contamination in mulch products at its premises.

The source of contamination is unknown and still under investigation.

Status of all sites

For the current status of sites under investigation by EPA visit:epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/incidents/response-to-potential-asbestos