Toxic Sites,Pollution,Environment in the Olympic Catchment
Date: 26 July 2000
The Sydney Olympic Games has sparked a redevelopment boom in the area
surrounding the Homebush Bay Olympic site. The "Olympic catchment",
comprising the local government areas of Auburn, Concord and Strathfield,
has historically been a highly industrialised and polluted area. Despite
this, the area has also supported some important ecological areas.
Significant wetlands and woodlands have survived largely because of
limited human access and direct use of these areas.
Background
The Sydney Olympic Games has sparked a redevelopment boom in the area
surrounding the Homebush Bay Olympic site. The "Olympic catchment",
comprising the local government areas of Auburn, Concord and
Strathfield, has historically been a highly industrialised and polluted
area. Despite this, the area has also supported some important
ecological areas. Significant wetlands and woodlands have survived
largely because of limited human access and direct use of these areas.
The redevelopment of the Olympic catchment for residential purposes
poses two immediate environmental challenges: how to clean-up existing
sources of pollution to make the area as safe as possible, and how to
protect and manage the valuable conservation areas which are now facing
new pressures.
Air and Water Pollution
The map below shows point sources of air and water pollution, and
contaminated sites in the Auburn local government area.
In addition to the Shell oil refinery located in the Parramatta local
government area approximately 1500m from the Olympic village, there are
39 premises in the Olympic catchment with pollution control licences
regulating air emissions, with the local government breakdown as
follows:
Auburn: 26 premises
Concord: 6 premises
Strathfield: 7 premises.
Licensed air emissions form only a part of the air pollution to which
people in the Olympic catchment are being exposed, with a major
additional source being motor vehicle traffic.
The Lidcombe Waste Plant is a particular source of concern to local
residents because of its air emissions. It is located between the
Olympic Stadium and the Olympic Village. The Waste Plant was established
in 1988 and currently processes 100 000 tonnes/annum of industrial
liquid waste. Despite its location near a new residential development,
it is being expanded to treat an additional 20 000 t/a of sludge and
another 700-1500 t/a of other industrial wastes. Contaminated leachate
from remediated toxic waste mounds at the Olympic site will be sent to
the Lidcombe Waste Plant for treatment.
Waste outputs from the plant include residues and filtercake which go
to landfill, industrial sewer discharges and air emissions. The air
emissions include chlorine, hydrogen chloride, sulphur dioxide, sulphur
trioxide, hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide, carbon
dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen oxides, mercury, gaseous and particulate
metals and metallic compounds (arsenic, cadmium, lead and antimony) and
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including dichloromethane, 1,2
dichloroethane, 1,1,1 trichloroethane, trichloroethylene,
tetrachloroethene, hexane and benzene.
Currently there are no concentration based legislative limits for VOC
emissions in NSW, even though VOCs such as benzene are known causes of
leukemia. The Lidcombe Waste Plant is not meeting the current
frequency-based odour goals specified as targets in its air pollution
control licence.
A total of 22 premises are licensed for discharges to waters in the
Olympic catchment as follows:
Auburn: 15 premises
Concord: 4 premises
Strathfield: 3 premises.
While some of these licences relate only to temporary sedimentation
basins at construction sites, there are additional "point" sources of
water pollution in the Olympic catchment which are not licensed by the
NSW Environment Protection Authority. Other premises, which are
generally regulated by local councils, include service stations, light
industry sites and so on. In the Olympic catchment, non-scheduled
premises include numerous motor vehicle traders, who can contribute to
local stormwater pollution through car washing.
Water quality monitoring undertaken by Sydney Water in 1993 and 1994
in Haslams Creek and Powells Creek, both of which drain to Homebush Bay,
found that none of the water quality indicators measured met Australia
and New Zealand Conservation Council (ANZECC) water quality guidelines
for protection of aquatic ecosystems or primary contact recreation (ie.
swimming and bathing). The indicators included faecal coliforms, total
suspended solids, total phosphorus, total nitrogen and ammonia. In May
1998, a fish kill was recorded in Haslams Creek at the Olympic site, but
the source of the problem is currently unknown. Water quality testing
conducted by Waste Service NSW in March 1995 in Boundary Creek, which
runs through both the Olympic site and Bicentennial Park, found that
levels of copper, zinc and total nitrogen exceeded national guideline
levels and may influence blue-green algae blooms in Lake Belvedere in
Bicentennial Park. A blue-green algae bloom was recorded in Boundary
Creek in January 1996 and is thought to have occurred as a result of a
sewer overflow in the upper catchment of the creek.
In addition to sewer overflows, sewer leaks have been identified as a
significant source of water quality problems in Haslams and Powells
Creeks. Sewer leaks and overflows are the likely cause of high levels of
faecal coliforms and nutrients, however the large number of permits to
discharge industrial waste to sewers suggest sewer leaks as a possible
source of other contaminants. There are currently 571 permits to
discharge trade waste in the Olympic catchment. The trade waste
agreements range from the agreement with the Lidcombe Waste Plant, which
permits discharge to the sewer of arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium,
chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium and
zinc, to agreements with light industry, restaurants and service
stations.
Contaminated Sites
The Homebush Bay area has been subject to extensive landfilling and
land reclamation since the 1890s. The materials used for the landfilling
included demolition, industrial, chemical and household wastes.
Much of the waste dumping took place in a period when ‘Rafferty’s
rules’ prevailed: that is, when no effective guidelines or regulations
were in place. Due to the uncontrolled nature of waste disposal, many
landfill areas were contaminated with hazardous materials such as heavy
metals, asbestos, chemical wastes, dioxins and pesticides. Industrial
activity on the Rhodes Peninsula has left much of this land and the Bay
itself with serious dioxin contamination.
This image will soon be linked to GIS package which will allow you
to properly veiw details of the catchment
Some of the contaminated sites in the Homebush Bay area have already
been remediated. The general remediation strategy for the area so far
has involved neither treatment of the toxic contamination nor its
removal from Homebush. Rather, the strategy chosen has been the
consolidation approach, ie. the wastes are consolidated into a well
defined area, contained with capping, and water from the consolidated
areas is captured in leachate collection systems. This is not a strategy
for the elimination of hazards or the destruction of pollutants, but one
of risk reduction and management.
There is still much work to be done, most particularly the clean-up
of the Bay itself. The information provided below summarises the
available history of waste dumping and industrial activity at key sites
in the Homebush Bay area, and the current status and remediation
strategies for these sites. The map above shows the location of areas
discussed. For further information on Green Games Watch’s views on the
remediation taking place, please email (ggw2000@wr.com.au) our
office.
The Brickpit
No filling in the existing brickpit has occurred. The Brickpit is the
home of the endangered green and golden bellfrog on the Olympic site.
The claypit to the north of the brickpit, however, was filled between
1977 and 1982 mainly with domestic garbage from Ashfield, Burwood,
Concord, Drummoyne and Strathfield Councils.
Contaminants within the claypit included arsenic, copper, lead, total
petroleum hydrocarbons, asbestos and organochlorines. Leachate samples
contained elevated levels of ammonium ions, barium, copper, lead, zinc
and cadmium. Contamination in the claypit resulted in a section 5
Unhealthy Building Land (UBL) notice being issued.
The Olympic Co-ordination Authority (OCA) advises that remediation of
the claypit is complete. Some of the waste was relocated nearby to the
landfill on Haslams Creek South ("Kronos Hill") while the remaining
waste was capped with 1m of clay.
Haslams Creek North
This occupies the area between Hill Rd and Haslams Creek and
comprises three distinct areas: the central region formerly controlled
by ELCOM, and two flanking regions accommodating radio towers for
stations 2SM (north) and 2KY (south).
Filling of the ELCOM site commenced in the early 1960s and concluded
in 1990. Filling of the 2KY site occurred between 1978 and 1980. The 2SM
site represents a remnant of the original Wentworth Bay.
Fill in the ELCOM site consisted of power station ash and some
putrescible wastes. Contaminants included lead, zinc, copper, cadmium,
chromium, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons and
organochlorine pesticide residues. The fill in the 2KY site consisted
predominantly of building rubble.
The OCA advises that remediation of the main ELCOM site is now
complete. Several remediation methods were used - some of the waste
material was excavated and replaced by clean fill and the removed waste
placed nearby and capped. The remainder of the waste was processed,
replaced and capped with 1m of clay. According to the OCA, the 2KY and
2SM wetlands are being restored as functioning wetlands.
Haslams Creek South
This area comprises approximately 34 hectares between Haslams Creek
and the showground precinct. The majority of the area was mangrove
woodlands, however filling took place from 1951 up until the mid 1980s.
A large hill ("Kronos Hill") was created rising up to 18 metres high
which was known as "Bradshaw’s Mountain". Dumping in this area was
largely uncontrolled and anecdotal information indicates a wide range of
contamination. In a 1986 report, the former State Pollution Control
Commission found that it was a likely disposal area for dioxin
contaminated waste from Union Carbide.
Fill contaminants were found to include: oil products, putrescible
garbage, chemical and foundry wastes including heavy metals, asbestos
and dioxins, including 2378 TCDD. The area is subject to a section 35
notice under the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act (EHC Act)
from the EPA.
The OCA advises that remediation of the Haslams Creek South landfills
is complete. Waste has been contained on site using stepped gabion
walls, capped with 1m of clay, and leachate drains and an impermeable
barrier have been installed to prevent water movement to and from
Haslams Creek. Leachate is being pumped into the nearby Lidcombe Liquid
Waste treatment plant for disposal.
Newington
The Newington area encompasses land previously occupied by the Royal
Australian Navy Armaments Depot. Approximately half of this area now
forms the site for the Olympic Village while the other half will become
a part of the Millennium Parklands.
Rubbish dumping in three major landfills commenced in the 1950s. The
East Landfill extends over 20ha. Landfilling here was conducted between
1969 and 1973 by uncontrolled disposal of a range of demolition,
putrescible and industrial waste. Contaminants in this area include
heavy metals, primarily zinc and copper, monocyclic and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons, boron, toluene, benzene, asbestos and elevated
ammonia levels in the groundwater. Although dioxins have been identified
in this area (adjacent to Haslams Creek), very limited testing for
dioxins has occurred in the Newington area.
The North Landfill extends over 13ha and was subject to uncontrolled
waste dumping. This area contains a heterogeneous mixture of putrescible
and industrial wastes including tar deposits thought to have originated
from the Petroleum & Chemical Co. Australia Ltd (PACCAL).
Contamination in the North Landfill includes the same chemicals
identified in the East Landfill, but in addition includes a large
component of tarry waste.
The Hardie’s Landfill extends over 3ha in the north- western corner
of Newington and contains primarily asbestos waste material but is also
heavily contaminated with heavy metals, chromium and carcinogenic
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Remediation of the Hardie’s landfill is planned for the near future
and will probably involve consolidation of the waste which will then be
covered with clean fill and capped. This waste will not be relocated
because it contains asbestos wastes.
Remediation of the East and North Landfills is currently underway.
This process involves the excavation of wastes and replacement with
clean fill in the East Landfill. Waste from this area has been relocated
to both the Auburn Landfill, adjacent to the north-west corner of
Newington, and to the North Landfill where it is waiting to be
consolidated with existing wastes and be capped with 1m of clay. The
installation of leachate drains is planned for the North Landfill to
collect any leachate which is likely to be highly contaminated for
treatment at the waste plant nearby.
State Sports Centre
The main landfill areas were to the north-east and the west of the
State Sports Centre although minor filling occurred over much of the
site. The majority of filling here took place between 1965 and 1970 and
finally ceased in 1981. Early dumping was largely uncontrolled and the
site received a range of industrial, chemical and domestic wastes.
The fill in the north-eastern area contains a wide variety of
constituents including putrescible waste, heavy metals, waste oil
products, asbestos and pesticides. Dioxins are likely to have been
dumped at this site by Union Carbide. Testing in this site from
1990-1992 identified the presence of dioxins, including the highly toxic
2378 TCDD. It would appear that the Golf Driving Range building is
directly adjacent to the highest concentrated sample of 2378 TCDD
detected. The area has been subject to both a section 35 notice under
the EHC Act and a section 5 UBL notice.
The OCA advises that remediation of this area was completed in 1992.
Waste from the landfill to the west of the Sports Centre was moved to
the very contaminated deep fill area in the north-east of the site.
Contaminated material was then consolidated, capped with 1m of clay and
secured within an area bounded by Australia Avenue, Boundary Creek and
the northern and western lengths of the State Sports Centre access road.
Leachate is intercepted by collection drains, however this only protects
the local groundwater as the leachate then flows out to the sewer
system.
Bicentennial Park
The southern section of the parklands was used by Strathfield Council
and the northern section by the former Public Transport Commission for
waste disposal. The whole area is largely fill including the wetlands
which were constructed from contaminated sediments from Homebush
Bay.
Contaminants in the Park include dioxins which have been found in the
wetlands where sediments were used and in the southern part of the Park.
The Park is subject to a section 35 notice under the EHC Act, and
a smaller section to a section 5 UBL notice.
The waste disposal area was rehabilitated into a park in 1988. The
Park Trust has advised that the remediation process involved
consolidation of the waste which was covered with fill and revegetated.
Unfortunately, the quality of the fill was not tested, and it has turned
out to be contaminated with a range of chemicals, including carcinogenic
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The Trust advises that maintenance of
the topsoil and grass layer assists in preventing human contact with
contaminated soils. Leachate from the northern landfill drains straight
to Powells Creek, however, it is not known to contain any harmful
chemicals. The Trust advises that a plan of management is in place.
Funding to upgrade park remediation is currently being
sought.
Wilson Park
Wilson Park borders Parramatta River to the east of Silverwater Rd.
PACCAL operated at Wilson Park for approx 20 years prior to its closure
in 1974, producing town gas from cracking crude oil, and other petroleum
products, aromatic solvents such as benzene and toluene, and a variety
of tar-bitumen products.
Tar sludge was produced as a by-product of manufacture. When the site
was decommissioned, some of the sludge was mixed with sandstone and
spread over the site, some was sent to Newington landfills, and some put
back into storage ponds and the entire area covered with 1m of clay.
The site is contaminated with tars, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl
benzene and xylene), polyaromatic hydrocarbons and furans. In 1994 the
park was closed due to health risks and the area is subject to a section
35 notice under the EHC Act. Residues have been volatilising with
strong BTEX emissions forming a dense liquid at the bottom of the buried
residues. This liquid has been leaking into the Parramatta River.
In 1996, Waste Service NSW advised that remediation plans involved
cleaning of the dense liquid from the Parramatta River, containing this
liquid on site and the sealing of the area where seepage to the River is
occurring. Final treatment of the liquid will depend on the results of
investigations into alternative treatment technologies.
Former Union Carbide Site
The following chemicals were produced at this site by Union Carbide
(and before that, Timbrol Ltd): xanthates, aniline, nitrobenzene,
phenol, chlorobenzene, chlorophenols, chlorine, DDT, bisphenol and
phenol-formaldehyde resins.
On-site dumping of chemical wastes behind a sea wall occurred for
land reclamation between 1937 and 1974. Dioxins were produced on-site as
a byproduct in the production of the herbicide 245 T. This waste was
dumped on-site. Reject batches of 245 T were also dumped in landfills at
Homebush Bay, Concord and Lucas Heights. From 1970 to 1976, the
extremely toxic dioxin 2378 TCDD was extracted from 245 T and stored in
drums at the site until 1986 when they were exported for
destruction.
This site is currently contaminated with polychlorinated
hydrocarbons, including dioxins, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Some
remediation work was undertaken in the early 1990s but was limited to
containing wastes on site in an earthen sarcophagus. This is covered by
a compacted clay cap and leachate is collected for recirculation through
the contained area or for treatment. The remediation work did not
include a 15m wide reclaimed section of shoreline.
Former Allied Feeds Site
The former Allied Feeds site was used as a flour mill from 1919.
However, the site was expanded by reclamation between 1937 and 1974,
largely using chemical waste from Union Carbide as fill. This left the
reclaimed portion of the site heavily contaminated with polychlorinated
hydrocarbons, including dioxins, and aromatic hydrocarbons. This part of
the site is subject to a section 35 notice under the EHC Act.
This area has reportedly been covered over with 1m of clean fill.
The current owners are working with the Government to clean up the site
so that it can be used for residential development. The clean-up
proposal involves treatment of contaminated soil to destroy dioxins and
other contaminants.
ICI (Orica) Sites
ICI encompasses two sites: Mary St and Alfred St. At the Mary St
site, soil is contaminated with heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons,
polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and phthalate esters. Groundwater
(which flows into Homebush Bay) contains low concentrations of
polyaromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene and xylene compounds and phthalate esters.
At the Alfred St site, soil is contaminated with heavy metals and
organic compounds and groundwater (which flows into Homebush Bay)
contains low concentrations of BTEX, PAH and phenolic compounds.
ICI is currently proposing to remediate the site to allow residential
development. Remediation will involve use of landfarming techniques to
reduce organic contaminants, excavation and off-site disposal of soils
containing heavy metals, and removing floating organic contaminants from
the surface of groundwaters intersected in excavations.
Homebush Bay
Leaching of contaminants from the manufacturing sites (eg. Union
Carbide) bordering the Bay, as well as drainage from Haslams and Powells
Creek, have caused contamination of the Bay.
The dangerous levels of contaminants in the Bay have resulted in the
current fishing ban on the Parramatta River west of the Gladesville
Bridge and in Homebush Bay. Contaminants in the Bay include dioxins and
furans, organochlorines and PCBs, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, phenols,
chlorinated phenols, heavy metals and phthalates. The potential toxicity
due to the mixture of compounds present in the sediments is of great
concern. The Bay is also polluted with large amounts of DDT (in one
instance in excess on 70,000ppm). Phthalates and heavy metals are
present in highest concentrations adjacent to the ICI site and dioxins
and other organic chemicals are present in the highest concentrations
adjacent to the former Union Carbide and Allied Feeds sites.
Concentrations generally decrease with distance from the sites.
The current clean-up proposal for the Bay involves removing some of
the sediments and treating them to remove contaminants such as dioxins.
Remediated sediment will then be placed on land. The proposal, however,
currently lacks any plans for the validation of remediation of the
sediment by means of bio-assays. A new sea wall is proposed to stop
recontamination of the Bay from adjoining sites not fully rehabilitated
in the proposal. Currently the proposal covers only a small part of the
Bay, and does not include the area adjacent to the ICI
site.
Conservation Areas
In 1988, the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) proposed that
135ha of the Newington naval armaments depot site at Homebush Bay be
protected as a Nature Reserve under the management of the National Parks
and Wildlife Service of NSW (NPWS). The site was listed on the Register
of the National Estate in 1991, recognising both the natural and
cultural heritage values of the site. In 1995, the NSW Labor Party
promised in its pre-election Nature Conservation Strategy that the
proposed Nature Reserve would "be established following the
relocation of the Commonwealth armaments depot at Silverwater in time
for the Sydney 2000 Olympics".
The NSW Government has announced that approximately half of the
proposed area will be incorporated into a Nature Reserve, and that the
remainder will be incorporated into the new Millennium Park. The Nature
Reserve incorporates the woodland and wetlands on the Newington site,
and Millennium Park will encompass the grasslands.
The Nature Reserve contains a unique remnant of pre-European
Cumberland Plain vegetation. This includes the only remaining example in
the Sydney region of a complete estuarine zonal succession, from
eucalypt forest through to swamp oak forest, and then saltmarsh to
mangroves in the intertidal zone. This area contains the only area of
forest vegetation in Sydney’s inner west suitable for reservation and
management for long term conservation. Almost all similar vegetation has
been cleared.
The Nature Reserve is of high scientific value and contains some
species which are now virtually limited to the site. The area can be
characterised by the following vegetation communities:
Eucalypt forest
20ha in size, it is the last remaining stand of Cumberland Plain
Wianamatta Shale vegetation. The remnant forest includes considerable
species diversity representing a transition between the higher rainfall
of the inner suburbs with the drier grassy woodlands of Parramatta and
the Cumberland Plains. It contains at least ten tree species, including
turpentine, ironbark, scribbly gum, woolybutt and kurrajong, the latter
two being virtually extinct in the Sydney region. The forest also
contains about one hundred understorey plants and shrubs of which at
least 14 species are considered locally vulnerable. The diversity of
this forest supports a large number of bird species, including a variety
of parrots which nest in hollow-bearing trees, some mammals, reptiles
and invertebrates.
Casuarina forest
This six hectare forest occurs landward of the mangrove community and
adjacent to the eucalypt forest. It is an important example of a forest
type now rare in the Sydney region and NSW.
Saltmarsh
The saltmarsh is important for its size (16ha), unusual diversity and
rare species. It contains the rare plants Wilsonia backhousii,
Lampranthus tegens, and Haloscaria pergranulata which are
of considerable botanical importance because of their uncommon
occurrence.
Mangroves
The tall closed mangrove community is an intricate part of the
wetland system of Homebush Bay and the Parramatta River. It is
regionally significant, being a large portion of what remains on the
Parramatta River. The intertidal communities provide an important
feeding area for migratory waders, supporting a rich diversity of
species.
The grassland community in Millennium Park is comprised mostly of
exotic species and forms an important buffer between adjacent developed
areas and the highly sensitive forest and wetland. It provides important
feeding habitat for parrot species such as the regionally-rare
Red-rumped Parrot. Unfortunately, the Olympic Co-ordination Authority
selected grassland directly adjacent to the woodlands and wetland as one
of the main dumping areas for toxic waste from around the site (see
Newington North Landfill above).
This entire remnant forest/wetland complex is a unique and important
island of wildlife habitat in an urban sea. The forest forms an
important habitat for bush birds, reptiles and mammals, including two
species of possum and 6 species of bat. The wetlands provide an
important habitat for water birds, invertebrates and juvenile fish.
The armaments depot has been a fenced high security area for almost
90 years. It has provided fauna such as birds with significant
protection from disturbance pressures. The birdlife at Homebush Bay is
remarkably diverse for an urban location, with more than 140 species
recorded on the site, of which at least 40 species nest in the area. The
wetland areas attract more than 25 species of migratory waders,
including Latham’s Snipe, Curlew Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper and
Red-necked Stint, all of which are protected by international Migratory
Bird Treaties.
Ongoing Issues
Millennium Park and Nature Reserve
In 1997 abd 1999 the Minister for the Environment announced the
creation of the Nature Reserve at Newington, however at March 1999 it
has still not been gazetted. This means that it is not yet under the
care and control of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. In the
meantime, the toxic waste mound at the adjacent North Newington area has
suffered slippage due to the large amount of material stored there and
heavy rains.
There are also no firm plans addressing the long-term management body
for Millennium Park, including important grassland feeding areas and
arrangements related to Bicentennial Park.
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| NCCNSW Classification |
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Biodiversity - Ecologically Sustainable
Development - Waste |
| Topical Subject |
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| Authoring Organisation |
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| Published |
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26 July
2000 | | |
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