Asbestos has been confirmed at two more Sydney schools as one prepares to close for a week to remove mulch but there's good news for the city's excited concert goers.
Sydney Olympic Park has been cleared after precautionary tests before crowds flock to the entertainment precinct for concerts by Taylor Swift and Blink-182 from Friday.
"The harbour city is ready to welcome Taylor Swift with open arms and the hundreds of thousands of Swifties who we expect to enjoy those performances," NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CEO Tony Chappel said on Sunday.
Bonded asbestos has been confirmed at two western suburbs schools however.
Penrith Christian School at Orchard Hills and St Luke's Catholic College at Marsden Park are the latest sites.
St Luke's told the EPA it will close for a week while mulch is removed.
A single pile of mulch has been secured at Penrith Christian School and is not accessible to students, the agency said in a statement on Sunday.
Results are pending for Edmondson Park Public School, Mount Annan Christian College at Curran's Hill and Trinity Catholic Primary School at Kemps Creek, as well as in the inner west at Domremy Catholic College at Five Dock, NSW Education Department secretary Murat Dizdar said.
"We are hopeful of obtaining those results today so we can communicate to those school communities prior to the kick-off of the school week," Mr Dizdar said.
Asbestos was previously identified at Liverpool West Public School in Sydney's southwest and Allambie Heights Public School on the city's northern beaches.
Liverpool West students have been offered in-person learning at Gulyangarri Public School, where Mr Dizdar plans to visit on Monday.
Allambie Heights Public School remains open.
The recent confirmations bring the number of positive sites to 34.
Tests have returned 662 negative results since January, the EPA said.
A fenced off area at Sutherland Hospital will be subject to testing, after an earlier confirmation at Campbelltown Hospital.
Materials found in mulch at a garden bed near the Audley Boatshed in the Royal National Park are being tested and the environment department has restricted access, the EPA said.
Westmead Christian Grammar School and the International Grammar School at Ultimo in inner Sydney have been cleared after earlier being identified as potential sites.
Mr Chappel said the EPA is investigating how mulch became contaminated with asbestos and is yet to identify a definitive cause.
The agency had been required to disclose a notice issued to Greenlife Resource Recovery preventing it supplying more mulch, which it is currently complying with, Mr Chappel said.
Recycled mulch has a complicated supply chain and seeking to attribute blame was unhelpful before the investigation concludes with a full report to the public, he added.
The company is challenging the prevention order in court and said its mulch is independently tested by approved laboratories.
"Greenlife is confident mulch leaving our facility is free of asbestos contamination," the company said in a statement on Friday.
