SYDNEY, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The state government of Australia's New South Wales (NSW) on Thursday activated a specialized task force to strengthen investigations into the asbestos-tainted mulch detected in multiple sites across Sydney.

The NSW government announced that the task force, led by the current Chair of the NSW Asbestos Coordination Committee Carolyn Walsh, will include senior representatives of several state government agencies, as well as local government.

"This is the largest investigation the Environment Protection Authority has undertaken in recent decades. The complex, criminal investigation involves multiple lines of inquiry," said Penny Sharpe, NSW minister for environment.

"Our number one priority is to finish contract tracing the supply chain so that any potential receiver of the mulch is notified. That means we can take immediate action to make the area safe. The surge in workforce means we can get to the bottom of the supply chain much faster," she added.

The announcement came after asbestos was discovered in many public spaces across Sydney over the past few months. Breathing in asbestos fibers, as the NSW Ministry of Health noted, can cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

Also on Thursday, the state's Minister of Education and Early Learning Prue Car told local media 9News that 700 kids, including those with special needs and in preschool, would be relocated to another school for several weeks after the presence of bonded asbestos was confirmed at their original school in Sydney's southwest.

As of Thursday, the NSW Environment Protection Authority has tested 200 sites across Sydney, 20 of which returned positive results for the cancer-causing substance, according to Sharpe at a press conference. Enditem

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