Five facilities named in documents tabled in NSW parliament defend practices, as independent experts question whether testing system is failing consumers
Facilities belonging to some of the leading commercial laboratory companies in Australia were among those that retested samples of landscaping products at the request of their waste company clients, after initial tests found contamination not compliant with NSW laws.the testing regime meant to limit toxic chemicals in landscaping material known as “recovered fines” had been compromised by the practice of waste companies asking private laboratories to retest samples until they passed.
The laboratories named in documents tabled in state parliament in relation to the 2019 investigation all defended their individual practices, saying in several cases it was the responsibility of the waste companies to comply with testing regulations and act on the results of the tests. A third lab, in Chatswood, is managed by Envirolab Services, an environmental testing company with facilities in Sydney and Melbourne. The final two are the smaller Sydney Environmental Soil Laboratory in Thornleigh, and Resource Laboratories in Seven Hills, whose inhouse testing is focused on physical contaminants such as plastics, with tests for chemical and other non-physical contaminants outsourced.
Producers are not legally required to test for asbestos, but the investigation found some that did so then requested retesting after asbestos was detected. They said “under no circumstances” would laboratory staff knowingly retest to enable waste facilities to give the impression that contaminated landscaping products were compliant with NSW law when they were not.
Graham Lancaster is the senior manager of commercial and research operations at Environmental Analysis Laboratory , which specialises in a range of analytical services and is based at Southern Cross University in Lismore.
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