NEWCASTLE residents living near the Wickham fire site say more needs to be done to reduce the risk of asbestos contamination.
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Around 150 residents attended a Friday meeting with incident controller Newcastle Police Commander Wayne Humphrey and representatives from a range of authorities, where they were briefed on the cleanup.
Residents were told there was a very low risk of exposure to airborne asbestos in ash and debris.
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Authorities said recordings from several air quality monitoring devices across the impacted suburbs showed no indication of airborne asbestos particles.
Islington resident Will Sherman said "there were no presented facts and figures to back up their statements of 'It's a low risk' - you read on multiple government websites there is no safe level of asbestos".
He said the area of contamination had been underestimated and agencies were "overwhelmed".
"As a result the local and state response to this serious situation has been grossly inadequate, haphazard and slow with a clear lack of precise advice and direction to residents," he said.
Mr Sherman said he was concerned about "emu picking" only visible pieces of asbestos and that soil in yards across the area needed to be removed.
"They mentioned in the meeting it's budget and time, but when it comes down to people's health - especially children - there shouldn't be any consideration of that, it should be an open chequebook and 'What do we need to do to do it properly?', because we're not talking about you're going to get a cough and cold for a week."
Mr Sherman said he, his wife and their six year old daughter were "trapped" inside.
"I'd be quite happy to sell up and move away, which is really sad to say because I really enjoy living here," he said.
An EPA spokeswoman said evacuated Soque apartment residents were able to return home at 4pm on Sunday.
In relation to Annie Street, she said Ausgrid reconnected power and asbestos specialists started cleaning on Saturday.
She said utilities would be reconnected and residents contacted by an assessor on Monday.
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Helen Gregory
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
Helen Gregory joined the Newcastle Herald in 2010. She is the masthead’s education reporter and has written for the H2 and Weekender sections, as well as across a range of issues. Helen is a Walkley Award winning journalist and was also part of the Newcastle Herald team that won the United Nations World Environment Day Media Award for Environmental Reporting.
