Toxic waste linked to Perth water supply

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Toxic waste linked to water

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TOXIC chemicals from the former Bellevue recycling plant have leaked into

groundwater linked to a Perth tap water source, an environmental authority

has confirmed.

The Department of Environmental Protection says there is no imminent health

threat but removing the pollution will be very expensive.

Details of the contamination, and claims of WA Government culpability, are

due to be aired on the ABC Four Corners program tonight.

Reporter McDonell said a private consultant had found significant

soil and groundwater contamination under the Bellevue site, the scene of one

of Australia's worst chemical fires.

He said a report by the consultant to the State Government said the

contamination was moving into two aquifer systems, one of which sat above

the Leederville aquifer.

Perth takes about 15 per cent of its drinking water from the Leederville

aquifer.

The report said the contamination was mostly organic solvents and products

of their degradation, including xylene, phenol and a range of chlorinated

solvents, McDonell said.

The former plant was meant to clean and recycle industrial chemicals. It

housed about 500,000 litres of chemicals at the time of the inferno last

February 15.

DEP director of environmental regulation Tim McAuliffe said the report was

being finalised and would be released this month.

Mr McAuliffe said the contamination, largely solvents, hydrocarbons and some

metals was mainly under the plant's main processing area. Bores 50m on

either side of the plant showed that contamination had not spread beyond

groundwater directly below the site.

Mr McAuliffe stressed that the contaminated water was a very long way from

where drinking water bores tapped into the Leederville aquifer, and that

groundwater migrated slowly, at only 4m to 14m a year.

The extent of contamination and best remedy would be thoroughly

investigated.

He said it was highly probable that the cause of the contamination was not

the fire but former operations at the site. The department was investigating

its prosecution options.

McDonell said his program would probe the adequacy of government handling of

issues relating to the site.

He said there was evidence that authorities knew they were sitting on a time

bomb well before the fire.

" WA government departments, in full knowledge of the shambolic and

potentially disastrous state of the Bellevue dump, allowed it to continue

operating year after year, " McDonell said.

Murdoch University physics professor Phil Jennings said a comprehensive

survey of the contamination and plan for its recovery should be started

right away.

Dr Jennings said that if heavy metals, which lasted forever, got into a

drinking water source they probably would make it unuseable. Most heavy

metals were serious health hazards.

© 2001 West Australian Newspapers Limited

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http://www.thewest.com.au/20020211/news/perth/tw-news-perth-home-sto43837.ht

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