Investigations have narrowed down the list of Queensland entities that received soil potentially contaminated with friable asbestos to 18, including a school and a dog park.
St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School in Corinda and Everleigh Dog Park in Greenbank, along with 16 businesses, were identified as having been supplied soil that may have been tainted with the dangerous material.
The entities received the product between 2 and 26 February 2024.
It comes after a small amount of asbestos was discovered in contaminated soil at the NuGrow waste facility in Ipswich last week.
The Queensland department of environment (DESI) initially suspected the material was provided to about 25 sites, but now believes it was sent to 16 businesses, the school and the park.
Most recipients are landscape suppliers in south-east Queensland but one company identified was in Hervey Bay on the Fraser Coast.
NuGrow claimed on Wednesday that it discovered bonded asbestos, which is less dangerous than friable asbestos.
But in the afternoon, DESI told Guardian Australia: “The asbestos material is friable and was detected following drying and sieving under a stereoscopic microscope.”
NuGrow said on Wednesday there was “currently no evidence to suggest that people who may have come in contact with this material are at risk”.
A search is under way across the state at 23 0ther waste facilities. Additional test results from the NuGrow facility are due back on Friday. Asbestos was first discovered on 20 February.
The department said it started an investigation after asbestos was discovered at more than 60 sites across New South Wales in what has become an ongoing crisis in that state.
Guardian Australia has contacted NuGrow for a response to DESI’s test results.
On Wednesday, the Queensland premier, Steven Miles, said: “All of the appropriate agencies are very focused on keeping Queenslanders safe from what could be an asbestos contamination in mulch.”
But Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) confirmed on Wednesday night the asbestos was discovered in contaminated soil, not mulch.
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Miles said he would make the list of affected businesses public as soon as possible and would be setting up a hotline for those concerned they may have been exposed to the material so as to get advice directly from experts.
Peter McKay, a regulator at WHSQ, said agencies were working with NuGrow to clarify whether the supplied product was from the one stockpile that returned the positive test, or whether they are from a broader range stockpile.
NuGrow is not authorised to accept asbestosIt is not yet clear where the asbestos came from, but authorities are investigating its source.
The department was considering whether the company would receive enforcement action for the detection of the asbestos at the facility.
NuGrow has been issued with a precautionary emergency direction to immediately take action to prevent the release of asbestos in the air.
The company must also provide information about to where the material has been moved off site within the past 30 days and how it may have ended up in the facility.
WHSQ has issued a prohibition notice preventing the distribution of the contaminated materials.
An investigation by Guardian Australia revealed last month that the NSW environmental regulator had known for more than a decade that producers of soil fill were failing to comply with rules limiting the spread of asbestos into the community.
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