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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 3375 asked in the Legislative Council on 3 November 2020 by Hon Tim Clifford

Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment
Parliament: 40 Session: 1


Question

I refer to the 25 November 2019 fire that occurred at Cleanaway’s South Guildford facility, and I ask:
(a) can the Minister confirm that no dioxin, furan or bromine contaminated fire waste or debris from the Guildford Cleanaway fire was deposited in a class three or other landfill not licensed to take such waste classifications in Western Australia;
(b) can the Minister confirm that the Guildford Cleanaway Materials Recovery Facility site is not contaminated with dioxin, furan or bromine contaminated materials resulting from the fire that occurred on 25 November 2019; and
(c) given the debris that landed in residential backyards in Bassendean and Guildford that came from the Guildford Cleanaway Materials Recovery Facility fire, can the Minister confirm that this material is not hazardous, toxic or harmful to human health?

Answered on 26 November 2020

  1. As per my response to the Honourable Member’s question on notice number 3183, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) is not aware if Cleanaway undertook sampling and testing of the fire damaged waste prior to its disposal. The responsibility lies with the waste producer to classify their waste and for the landfill operator to only accept waste which is authorised for disposal in their licence granted under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act). The Department monitors compliance with licence conditions including waste acceptance criteria.
  2. DWER has advised that, as part of post-fire monitoring commissioned by Cleanaway, a suite of dioxins and furans were analysed in water from an onsite drain (likely first point of receipt for fire response water) in December 2019. All concentrations were below the laboratory limit of reporting. In addition, as part of the post-fire monitoring and contamination investigations commissioned by Cleanaway, a range of brominated compounds were analysed in drain water and sediment, and in soil and groundwater onsite. All concentrations were below the laboratory limit of reporting. 
  3. At the time of the incident DWER undertook air quality monitoring for air toxics and particulates and swab samples in the downwind residential area. Swab sampling that was undertaken at residential properties tested for a suite of chemical compounds, including dioxins, and metals that could be expected to be emitted from a waste fire and be potentially deleterious to public health. DWER has advised that the levels detected did not warrant further investigation. Full monitoring results are available in Paper 4122 tabled for Parliament on 18 August 2020.