EPA alerted after landfill fire

The EPA was alerted by the site operator Veolia about the smoke. 348748_04

By Violet Li

A fire was detected at Hallam Road Landfill on the morning of 8 February.

EPA was alerted by the site operator Veolia about smoke emanating from an intermediately capped landfill cell. Fire services were not required.

The area was isolated for safety and doused with water.

The landfill gas wells in the immediate area were closed and additional cover material was applied, which was to prevent airflow into the landfill cell to remove oxygen as a fuel source for the potential sub-surface fire.

A Veolia spokesperson said they were not aware of any offsite impacts and would continue to monitor.

“Our operations minimise these occurrences, and our procedures enable us to respond immediately to such matters if they periodically occur,” they said.

No further actions were issued to Veolia by the EPA.

EPA will continue to monitor the situation including Veolia’s ongoing odour monitoring and management. If you need to report odour issues from the site, contact EPA at 1300 372 842 or epa.vic.gov.au