By Jorge Jorquera
In 1991 I was living in Wilson Street Yarraville, working near Vic Markets. I usually cycled home down Footscray Road, but one day I caught the train. I only remember this because when I got to Flinders Street that August afternoon, there was a complete ruckus, all trains stopped, and no traffic going west. Earlier that afternoon a 600,000 litre chemical storage tank at Coode Island had exploded and caught fire, causing 8.5 million litres of organic compounds to burn. The toxic cloud was only dispersed by fortuitous winds.
We live in the toxic west. A migrant and working class heartland, which successive governments have used as a dumping ground. Though not always getting their way. In 1995, when CSR attempted to turn its Werribee quarry into a ‘prescribed waste landfill’, the community rallied. By mid-1996, a resident committee had formed, starting with 6 people. In May 1998 the campaign managed a public meeting of 15,000 residents at the Werribee racecourse, unanimously condemning the dump and endorsing pickets. In November 1998 CSR withdrew its proposal and sold the site.
Recent industrial fires remind us of this western suburbs’ history. It’s no surprise then that the EPA recently approved an application by Steel Cement to expand their existing slag grinding facility in Yarraville. The facility will produce 1.5 million tonnes of cement per year; with a planned 370 truck movements a day. The factory will be grinding slag 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, within 1km of residents. The release of PM2.5 ‘dust’ is a real health risk, as is the dust released from transporting trucks. Additionally, the unloading of raw materials using heavy fuel oil will produce 5.5 tonnes of PM2.5. The gas powered factory will produce 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per hour.
The EPA is also currently considering a new licence application for the storage of dangerous goods in Coode Island. The proposed facility will store approximately 230 tanks, containing foodstuffs, combustible liquids and dangerous goods, 1.2km from the Yarraville Village. Despite little transparency and consultation, the EPA will be making an assessment of this licence application over the next few months.
It doesn’t stop there. On September 11, Maribyrnong Council resolved to send a letter opposing the Minister’s request regarding the intended alignment of the Planning Scheme to the extended Port Area. The state government has been trying to get Hobsons Bay, Melbourne, Port Phillip and Maribyrnong Councils to support a draft amendment of the Planning & Environment Act, that could significantly enlarge the potential hazards zone from a Major Hazards Facility (MHF), beyond the existing Coode Island hazard zone and reaching westward toward Williamstown Road.
The Port of Melbourne has identified the potential need to expand liquid bulk facilities to meet fuelling demands of vehicles and the aviation industry, on land on Somerville Road and Whitehall Street. Such facilities include crude oil, petroleum products and other dangerous liquids and chemicals. The Worksafe Safety Area Buffer zones that surround such MHFs already include some 2,000 residential and commercial properties impacted by the Coode Island buffer area.
As the report voted on by Council on September 11 noted: ‘The potential for a new liquid bulk facility being allowed within the City is a major concern and increasing the risk of safety to local businesses and residents … Furthermore it is likely that Worksafe buffer area(s) would need to be expanded’.
Last year, Maribyrnong City Council declared a health emergency, noting the impacts of air and noise pollution in the inner west. Now is the time to start building a united community campaign to make the west toxic free.
