Former NSW asbestos investigator calls for more controls on waste disposal

As chief scientist says state should drop zero tolerance', former EPA official says many problems could be solved during demolition process

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

A former senior New South Wales environment watchdog officer says more needs to be done to stop asbestos from being mixed into waste materials as the state government considers overhauling the regime for dealing with the toxic contaminant.

Jason Scarborough, who led an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) investigation that found potentially contaminated soil fill could have been applied to land across the state, said many of these issues could be solved at the time of demolition.