A large pile of asbestos has been found dumped in a laneway, close to a primary school in Sydney's west.
Residents found the asbestos in Treuer Lane in Yagoona early on Friday morning.
JUST IN: A crime scene has been set up after a large pile of asbestos was found dumped at Yagoona. #9News pic.twitter.com/nA6Uyq3JWn— Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) January 19, 2017
Police were alerted and cordoned off the laneway.
A spokesperson from the City of Canterbury Bankstown Council said the waste was dumped overnight in the residential area, which is less than 500 metres from Yagoona Public School.
"Approximately eight tonnes of fibro asbestos cement sheeting was dumped," the spokesperson said.
The council said it had "commissioned a contractor to safely remove the asbestos".
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the council are investigating who is responsible.
"[We are] talking to witnesses and securing potential surveillance footage as evidence," the council said.
Airborne asbestos is a health hazard and the maximum penalty for an individual for wilfully dumping asbestos-contaminated waste is a $1 million fine and/or seven years in jail, while the maximum fine for a corporation is $5 million, the EPA said.
