By Benjamin Millar
A toxic chemical cocktail remains virtually untouched at a Tottenham warehouse seven months after last year’s massive industrial inferno.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has conceded work is yet to get underway on the massive clean-up of the toxic mess left after the suspicious fire tore through the warehouse, igniting thousands of drums of illegally stored chemicals.
WorkSafe executive director of health and safety, Paul Fowler, last year told a community meeting that his authority had been unaware there were dangerous goods being stored in the warehouse.
The fire was about 14,000 square metres in size and fuelled by acetone drums, cannisters and scrap metal.
Analysis of materials sampled at the fire site indicate the presence of hydrocarbons including benzene, toluene and xylene, along with other compounds including industrial solvents, detergents and copper.
Works are finally underway, however, on the excavation of at least 500 cubic metres of contaminated sediment from a 600-metre section of Stony Creek.
Melbourne Water is diverting the creek via a pipe while excavators dig out toxic sludge built up between the fire site and Paramount Road. The contaminated sediment is being temporarily stockpiled at the fire site ahead of future disposal to a secure landfill.
The creek remediation works are expected to take 8-10 weeks.
EPA testing of creek water and sediment samples taken on February 15 showed improved Stony Creek water quality, but poor results in terms of creek sediments, with high concentrations of chemicals including hydrocarbons.
Further testing and assessment of sediment in and around the creek will be carried out as works progress.
Maribyrnong council, the lead authority in the wake of the fire, directed questions on the clean-up of the fire site to the EPA.
An EPA spokesman said the owners of the fire site had been issued a number of statutory notices requiring them to install security fences and ensure controls are in place so no further run-off can enter stormwater drains.
“To date these notices have been complied with.”
The EPA spokesman said preliminary assessment work was underway at the site.
He did not respond to questions regarding a proposed timeline for the work or what steps could be taken to force the site to be cleaned up if no action was taken.
Inner-west residents have continued to complain of poor health in the wake of the fire and expressed frustration at the time being taken for clean-up efforts.
Maribyrnong chief executive Stephen Wall said a new Stakeholder Advisory Group was monitoring recovery actions and highlighting areas of unmet need.
He said the council would pursue the state government to cover the costs of dealing with the fire’s aftermath.
