WORKSAFE has advised Hobsons Bay Council to find out how a company wanting to fumigate containers with a toxic gas at Spotswood plans to prevent, detect and contain any leaks.
About 200 submissions have been lodged over Container Fumigation Services’ plans to set up a methyl bromide operation at 407 Douglas Parade, which is about 250 metres from Newport homes and close to parks, sports clubs, kindergartens, schools and the Scienceworks museum. The legal buffer zone for methyl bromide is 1000 metres.
Methyl bromide is a colourless, odourless ozone-depleting gas banned in many OECD countries and linked to deaths from motor neurone disease. A Facebook group, Keep Methyl Bromide out of Hobsons Bay, has started with members ‘letterboxing’ 1500 households to lobby against the CFS bid.
In a letter seen by the Weekly, WorkSafe acting chief executive Ian Forsyth advises the council to request CFS demonstrates how it plans to detect and prevent leaks and notify neighbours who would be affected by the release of methyl bromide. The Weekly has learned the methyl bromide proposal does not need EPA licensing. In a letter, EPA chief executive John Merritt says methyl bromide fumigation is not a scheduled activity under environment protection regulations. “As a result, fumigation premises do not require an EPA works approval or EPA licence to operate. Operating without a planning permit is a matter for the planning authority.”
