Asbestos contamination at O’Connor Catholic College has remained undealt with for almost a year, with no effort made to alert public to the risk or clean up the site, according to neighbours.
The discovery, made in December 2023 by neighbour of the school Neil Judd, has been confirmed by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) as asbestos. The fragments of bonded asbestos were found on the roadside after landscaping works around the College’s new Performing Arts Centre.
Authorities have been buckpassing, with one email chain seen by New England Times showing Armidale Regional Council General Manager James Roncon saying the EPA was managing the issue, followed by an email from NSW Environmental Protection Authority Manager Operations Lindsay Fulloon that Council carries regulatory responsibility.
“The EPA points to Council responsibility; Council points to school and so it goes round. No one seems to care about the health and safety of school and public community,” neighbour Sharon Gallen said.
There is also confusion about the area affected by the contamination. Neighbours say contamination of soil is on the grounds of O’Conner Catholic College and adjoining council verge – and indeed it was on the verge where they found the visible asbestos fragments that they alerted the building company to. Council says it is only on private land owned by the Armidale Catholic Diocese.
“Armidale Regional Council is currently working with the EPA and the Armidale Catholic Diocese, who are responsible for land identified to have asbestos contaminated material.
“Councils’ focus is to mitigate the risk the contamination poses and has asked the owner of the land to engage an accredited contamination expert to undertake detailed assessment of the site and develop an appropriate remediation strategy for implementation.
“Council understands that the contamination is on private land not readily accessible to the public.”
EPA were also of the understanding that the site was not accessible by the public, but again referred back to Council.
“The NSW Environment Protection Authority recently became aware of asbestos contaminated material in fill near O’Connor Catholic College in Armidale,” a spokesperson said.
“Armidale Regional Council is the appropriate regulatory authority for this matter and is currently working with the EPA and the school to address any risks that may be posed by the contamination.”
Arguably, the most alarming part of the events at O’Connor is that the site of the new building has been well known amongst locals as a place where asbestos material had been buried for decades. Previous asbestos issues related to the demolition of some of the old De La Salle buildings lingers in the memory of many locals, blurred by the passage of time, but should have been well known to the various Armidale Catholic institutions and Council.
Asbestos material was removed from the construction site in 2020, 2021, and 2022 according to correspondence between the builders and neighbours. It is unclear why this latest confirmed contamination has not been attended to for so long.
Armidale Catholic Schools said in a statement they are “working with NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Armidale Regional Council responding to any risks associated with the safety of the site. Building works at O’Connor have been, and continue to be, undertaken in accordance with Safework NSW guidelines and regulative authority requirements.”
“The safety of our students, staff and the community continues to be our priority.”
A basic makeshift barricade, without warning signs, was erected, however neighbours have provided multiple photos showing breaks or parts of the fence that have collapsed.
“More recently, we were gobsmacked that the contaminated grounds was mowed with students and staff walking around obviously unaware of the inherent risk,” Ms Gallen said.
“Students have carried out earthworks at the site to build shade structures,” Mr Judd said in an email to Council.
The neighbours have been pleading with authorities to act but so far have been nothing but frustrated.
“We need this risk to the health of residents, students and general community to be taken seriously,” Mr Judd said.
The NSW EPA encourages the community to report suspected any asbestos containing materials immediately to the NSW Environment Line on 131 555.
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