Barangaroo construction workers have found asbestos in soil potentially destined for Port Kembla, sparking renewed safety fears.
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The discovery occurred on Monday - the same day Wollongong City Council moved to seek assurances material from the contaminated development site could be safely used for land reclamation at Port Kembla.
About 600,000 tonnes of material will be excavated and shipped to the harbour under a deal struck earlier this year between Lend Lease and Port Kembla Port Corporation..
The excavation site, at the southern end of Barangaroo, contains high concentrations of copper, zinc, lead and chemicals.
Both organisations said there was no threat to human health or the environment because only clean material would be loaded onto the ship.
But on Monday, construction workers downed tools after Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union officials detected large quantities of exposed asbestos inside the excavation zone.
It is the second time asbestos concerns have halted work at the $6 billion development precinct.
Work is unlikely to resume until an independent expert declares the area safe.
CFMEU assistant state secretary Rob Kera yesterday claimed the asbestos was found in material deemed suitable for reuse.
"When we asked Lend Lease representatives whether there had been a clearance certificate issued by an occupational hygienist in that particular part of the project, they indicated there had been and that they deemed the area to be clean fill, in other words, able to be removed from the site and taken to other parts of the state," Mr Kera said.
Lend Lease managing director of Barangaroo South Andrew Wilson confirmed the material was classified as "general solid waste" while in the ground.
"Our next step is to excavate a portion and test it and that is what we will be doing," Mr Wilson said.
"No excavated material leaves the Barangaroo South site until it has been thoroughly tested and approved for the appropriate disposal."
Mr Wilson said Lend Lease was committed to protecting the safety of site workers and the community.
The company had agreed to employ a fifth occupational hygienist after discussions with the CFMEU, he added.
"I want to assure your readers that safety is the No 1 priority across all Lend Lease activities, and this includes the reuse or disposal of excavated material from the Barangaroo South site."
Last year, an investigation of the excavation footprint found copper concentration exceeded acceptable criteria in 53 out of 554 different samples.
Concentrations of the chemical phenanthrene exceeded the same criteria in 52 samples, while anthracene and zinc concentrations exceeded the limit in dozens of locations.
In May, Lend Lease applied to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to ship 600,000 tonnes of excavated material to Port Kembla.
Lend Lease and Port Kembla Port Authority stressed dangerous material would be appropriately disposed of elsewhere.
The application was not expected to be determined for another month or more, an EPA spokeswoman said yesterday.
Premier Barry O'Farrell yesterday said he was confident actions at Barangaroo had been "in accordance with WorkCover practices and procedures".
The asbestos will now be inspected, tested and validated by a qualified hygienist before being removed.
Work is continuing on other parts of the site.
