Current Issue: Bowden Village: poisoned chalice

In the beginning...

The State Government bought the former Clipsal site on Port Road in 2008 (10.3Ha). It then purchased the adjacent former SAGASCO/ Origin site in 2010 (5.7Ha).

The Government bought the Origin property for a token $1, but estimated taxpayers would have to pay $18 million to clean up its toxic soils. Origin itself contributed $12 million towards the remediation. 

The Government’s Land Management Corporation now says the cost of remediating the site has blown out to $43 million because contamination is far worse than it feared.

On 22 February last year, minister Pat Conlon announced that the 16 hectare Clipsal/SAGASCO/Origin site would be SA’s first so-called transport orientated development, which basically means it’s serviced by public transport.

According to a 25 centimeter-high stack of documents obtained by the Opposition under Freedom of Information, the Environment Protection Authority’s Peter Dolan warned even before the sale that that both the soil and groundwater at SAGASCO’s former gasworks in Chief Street was thought to be highly contaminated.

“Expected pollutants would include all potential gasworks wastes including tars, cyanide, phenols, naphtha’s, ammonia, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes,” he told the LMC.

“LMC should be very wary about purchasing the site and should ensure that it has completed a comprehensive assessment of the contamination status of both soil and groundwater before proceeding. 

“The above advice would apply to use of the site for any use, including residential.”

What happened next

Following this, an LMC environmental manager sent an email to senior executives.

“The environmental issues associated with Origin are at best bleak,” the email says.

“I have reviewed additional information from Origin and as expected the environmental issues present are likely to be quite problematic.

“On the basis the Origin site may come into government hands the EPA indicated they would have difficulty accepting a change in land use from industrial to residential.”

Following Cabinet’s final approval we know it will include 2,200 dwellings and 3,500 people and would cost the govt $264 million over the next decade.

A draft preliminary Risk Assessment dated 26 February 2010 (pg 51) states

“contaminated concentration for both soil and groundwater exceed the relevant guideline levels in many cases.  Therefore the conclusions of the Tier 1 Risk Assessments are that there may be risk to human health and / or the environment associated with the site.

In October 2010, AEC Environmental Pty Ltd monitored groundwater under the Clipsal site.

Metals like arsenic, chromium, lead, molybdenum, selenium and zinc, as well as benzene, total petroleum hydrocarbons, naphthalene, sulphate, cyanide, ammonia and phenol are migrating in groundwater from the former gasworks to the Clipsal site at concentrations that exceed one of more groundwater quality guidelines. 

It’s didn’t have the data to figure out if concentrations entering the site are increasing, decreasing, or stable.

Then in April 2011, the same environment management company advised that not only was Clipsal highly contaminated.

Contaminants were also found at and around the Origin site. Clipsal 2qw highly contaminated, with contaminants breaching environmental guidelines at “dangerous levels”.

For example, they discovered Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) 7,100 times greater that the guideline level of potable groundwater.

Petroleum hydrocarbons & benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes compounds extend off-site to the south. There was also ammonia – extending off-site to the south and along the northern boundary.  The highest reading was 2,500mg/L. The freshwater aquatic guideline level for ammonia is 0.5mg/L, so this is 5000 times greater than the recommended level.

Sulphate extends to the south. At 2,300mg/L, it’s nearly 5 times the recommended potable/health/aesthetic level.  The World Health Organisation recommends “health authorities be notified of sources of drinking-water that contain sulphate concentrations in excess of 500mg/L”. At 1000-1200mg/L, sulphates would have a laxative effect. At double that dosage, the Clipsal environs could give people the s***s.

Then there is cyanide. It extends off-site to the south and western corner and to the North.  The recommended level for potable (Health/Aesthetic) is .08mg/L. Around here, at .285, it’s nearly four times the recommended level.

The World Health Organisation states “cyanide is highly acutely toxic”. 

What we need to know now

The Government admits that both Clipsal and Origin sites are highly contaminated, but now we know something else.  

The 2010 investigation found Clipsal contaminated by the former gasworks site. In April 2011 at least five contaminants were detected in the groundwater beyond the Origin boundary.

Given the Labor Government’s appalling record and the EPA’s poor handling of groundwater contamination in the recent past – Edwardstown, South Plympton, Klemzig, Port Pirie – and its penchant for hiding the possible dangers rather than publicising it, South Australians must have the answers to the following questions:

1/ What further action or due diligence did the government take to ensure the safety of nearby homeowners, residents and businesses? 

2/ Did LMC report the findings to EPA, given that LMC had been told the EPA did not support a change in land use to residential!?

3/ Did the EPA conduct any testing or take any precautionary measures?

4/ Did the EPA find contamination had breached the exclusion zone?