Media response – asbestos found at Seaford caves

Published on 09 October 2026

Enquiry – InDaily

I am writing about the report that asbestos-containing materials have been detected at Seaford and am hoping to get further comment from the council.

• Is it safe for beachgoers to still step foot on Seaford beach?
• How long will it take for the ACM to be removed from the Seaford caves?
• Are there concerns that people have unknowingly been exposed to asbestos at this site?
• Are any steps being taken to investigate whether people have been exposed to asbestos?
• Will there be further investigations at other Onkaparinga Council beaches or sites following this detection e.g. Port Willunga Fishermen’s Cave?

Response

Comments attributed to Matt Buckell, Director Operations

While it’s safe to go the beach at Seaford, it’s never safe to enter the manmade caves or stand near the cliff base, which our signs have warned against for many years due to the risk of collapse.

Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) can present a health risk when asbestos fibres become airborne and are inhaled, but the presence of ACM does not, by itself, establish that a person has been exposed. The presence of ACM was confirmed at the caves on 25 September by our specialist contractor, who advised that the material is non-friable and poses a low risk if left undisturbed.

Since then, we placed additional warning signage at the site, provided information to the community via our website, and added the site to our Contaminated Land Register for future monitoring. Visible ACM has now been removed from the site with an ‘emu pick’ from our qualified remediation specialist, with these picks aimed at locating, identifying and collecting surface and visible ACM.

We believe the ACM is likely related to the structures built by local fishermen around the cave entrances from the 1960s. There are similar sites on our coastline – including in Aldinga, Port Noarlunga and Sellicks Beach – where historic shacks were built and then demolished, with materials appearing from time to time due to ongoing coastal erosion.

We manage these known contaminated sites with periodic emu picks for the visible/surface ACM. Attempting to dig for buried asbestos would involve a lot of guesswork, and risk damaging culturally and environmentally sensitive areas of the coast, as well as uprooting vegetation and damaging infrastructure.

ENDS