A historic hotel in far north South Australia has been issued with a clean-up order by the Environmental Protection Authority after several inspections showed friable asbestos at the site.
The hotel, the Opal Hotel in Andamooka, was damaged, along with two other buildings, by a suspicious fire in December last year. The Opal Hotel was being renovated at the time and had previously been closed for nine years.
Numerous inspections by the EPA up to July this year showed at least 300 tonnes of construction and demolition waste that contained friable asbestos. The state of the asbestos was friable as a result of the fire.
The order issued by the EPA means the site must have physical barriers erected, installed and maintained to prevent people from accessing the site. It has also urged that a licensed contractor spray the waste to limit any further exposure, in addition to air monitoring and safety signing at the site.
The cause of the fire was deemed to be suspicious by SA Police, with the damage from the fire estimated to cost the owners $250,000.
Local councillors have expressed concern over a lack of legislative direction that would allow the local progress association to take action and order a clean-up of the site.