Victoria’s environment regulator is tamping down a push to establish an asbestos task force to combat the growing crisis.

The Environment Protection Authority has confirmed or suspects asbestos contamination of nine parks and reserves across Melbourne.

Eight sites are within the Hobsons Bay area in Melbourne’s west, with the local council voting to write to Premier Jacinta Allan to urge the government to emulate NSW by setting up an asbestos task force.

But the EPA has rubbished the idea, insisting it doesn’t need any more help.

“We don’t need anymore resources to address it,” the authority’s Duncan Pendrigh told ABC Radio Melbourne on Thursday.

“We’re addressing it extremely well at this point in time.

“There’s no need for us to ask for any more resources for responding to the issue as we see it at the moment.”

The NSW asbestos task force was announced in February to support the state’s environment watchdog after asbestos was found in mulch at Sydney’s Rozelle Parklands.

Seventy-five sites across the city ultimately returned a positive for asbestos following testing of 6500 tonnes of mulch.

Victorian inspectors checked out a newly suspected site at RJ Long Reserve in Williamstown North on Wednesday and found no asbestos.

Testing of samples from Shore Reserve at Pascoe Vale South in Melbourne’s north came back positive before an occupational hygienist inspected the reserve and it was given the all-clear to reopen.

Other sites are close to being reopened, the authority said.

Pendrigh reiterated the authority has cleared mulch producers as the source of the asbestos contamination and is instead focusing on construction businesses.

“The maximum fine for a company not appropriately managing asbestos is $2 million for a single instance,” he said.

“So there is very strong powers that we have at our disposal.

“We are going to increase our scrutiny of demolition companies and their activities going forward because that’s the most likely source into the recycled mulch that we can detect.”

– AAP