A popular playground in Melbourne’s west has closed down after a parent discovered asbestos in the mulch.
The playground in Spotswood has been barricaded off after parent Jason Murphy discovered the suspicious building items in the mulch at the Donald McLean Reserve on Monday when he was at the park with his children.
“While I was here watching my kids ride their scooters around I found some stuff in the mulch that I really reckon shouldn’t have been there,” Murphy said.
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The materials were tested and the results said they contained asbestos.
“I’m here every day, I also have my pet dog who sniffs around and I have my granddaughter,” one resident said.
The discovery comes after 75 sites across New South Wales were found to have asbestos-contaminated mulch.
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“There’s going to be a lot of other playgrounds out here, all across Melbourne and probably across the whole country, where this same problem is popping up,” Murphy said.
The fragments in Melbourne were found in garden bed area of the playground.
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The mulch will now be removed.
Hobsons Bay council told 9News it was conducting a thorough inspection of all open space and conservation areas where recycled mulch had been used from a specific supplier.
The playground will reopen once the mulch has been reinstated and ticked off by the authorities.
