Dioxin contamination in Sydney Harbour

Friday, 03 February 2006 23:32

The ban on all commercial fishing operations in the Sydney Harbour came as no surprise to the Total Environment Centre. Sydney Harbour is amongst the three worst dioxin polluted harbours in the world. The government's announcement confirms TEC's concerns that the remediation of the Rhodes Peninsula site will be inadequate to protect human health and the environment. TEC also expressed concern that the NSW government did not conduct a wider monitoring program after finding high levels of dioxin or 'hotspots' throughout Homebush Bay during the 1990s.

Dioxin is a highly mobile and persistent pollutant.The World Health Organisation states that long-term exposure to dioxin is linked to the impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Dioxin is recognised as a human cancer causing agent.

TEC demands best-practice clean-up for Rhodes Peninsula

In 2003, TEC joined the chorus of concern about the remediation of the dioxin contamination during the 2003 Commission of Inquiry into its cleanup. TEC stated to the 2003 Commission of Inquiry that it was extremely concerned with the lack of coherence between the Union Carbide and Allied Feeds remediation plans. These concerns were expressed earlier in its submission to the 2002 Parliamentary Inquiry into the cleanup of Rhodes Peninsula and suggested that one remediation process that attained world best-practice should encompass the entire peninsula.

Remediation must meet international obligations

The government has allowed the two adjacent sites of the most contaminated land in Sydney to be remediated using two different processes. One of the processes uses direct thermal desorption which is effectively incineration. TEC is concerned the incineration process will breach Australia's responsibilities under the Stockholm Convention and produce more dioxin.

Federal government monitoring program also failed to protect community

The National Toxics Network conducted a review of the federal government's Dioxin Action Program (2001-2004) and were dismayed to find the plan failed to monitor and assess 'hotspots' of dioxin contamination throughout the Sydney Harbour. The failure to conduct a comprehensive, scientific, well-resourced monitoring program of dioxin has resulted in dangerous levels building up in the food chain and potentially contaminating Sydney's population.