Toxic waste scare

By Callan Date
TOXIC waste fears swept across Endeavour Hills on Monday when 27 chemical drums were dumped on land near Churchill National Park.
Workers at near by Waverley Golf Club first discovered the drums, labelled as extremely hazardous, on Saturday but didn’t raise the alarm until 7am on Monday.
More than 40 CFA members along with Police and Environment Protection Authority (EPA) officials rushed to the scene and found a 50-metre liquid trail leaking from the containers.
A hazardous material (HAZMAT) site was set up with the site contained nine hours later.
CFA First Lieutenant Russell Smith said it was one of the most unusual HAZMAT scenes he had been confronted with.
“To have one on the edge of a national park is very rare and to have one that involves illegally dumped material is also quite rare,” First Lt Smith said.
CFA media relations coordinator Adele Buhagiar said the dumped drums were eventually identified as chemical waste, which was flammable but not toxic, from an industrial process.
“There was some confusion as to what was in the drums as they were marked as extremely hazardous,” Ms Buhagiar said.
She said CFA crews were on scene until 4pm to make sure the removal of the waste went to plan.
First Lt Smith, who was in control of the clean up operation, said about 14 different crews were on site throughout the day.
He said Hallam, Narre Warren and Dandenong CFA units were of valuable assistance during the operation.
“There was potential for a mixture of (health) risks. Absorption through the skin as well as the potential for fire as it was flammable material,” he said.
Traffic was disrupted for several hours as police diverted motorists away from the clean-up site.
EPA South Metropolitan region manager George Tsivoulidis said a stormwater drain was blocked off to stop the flow to a drain leading into Dandenong Police Paddocks Reserve.
He said the oil smelled of solvent with much of it believed to be drycleaning chemicals. Those caught dumping chemicals could face fines of more that $1 million, he said.
“EPA would appreciate any information from members of the community who might be able to help with the investigation,” Mr Tsivoulidis said.
Anyone with information about the dumped chemicals is asked to contact the EPA Victoria pollution hotline on 9695 2777.