IN THE 1980S, AUSTRALIANS CAME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE INDUSTRIAL GROWTH CREATED POLLUTION
   MINING AND AGRICULTURAL WASTES, CHEMICAL FACTORIES, INDUSTRIES AND HOUSEHOLDERS DUMPED WASTES IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT
  MOST DUMPING WAS IN LANDFILL, SOME WASTES WERE USED TO RECLAIM LAND
  THE WASTE DUMPING PROCESS REACHED ITS PEAK IN THE 1960S AND '70S
  HAZARDOUS WASTES DUMPED IN THE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDED PCBS AND OTHER PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS)

COMMERCIAL USE

• PCBs:in electricity industry
• HCB:as insecticide/fumigant/industrial additives/contaminant)
• Aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane and heptachlor used by pest control companies
• Mirex, endrin, DDT, dieldrin, heptachlor and HCB used in agriculture

RETAIL USE

• HCB, DDT, dieldrin and chlordane were available to the public
• PCP: sold to the public as a fungicide (pentachlorphenol)

INDUSTRIAL WASTES

• dioxins and furans created as by-products of pesticide manufacture
• other POPs Wastes; includes PCB and HCB
• Orica's HCB store at Botany in Sydney; 10,000 tonnes (Formerly ICI)

 ALDRIN AND DIELDRIN WERE USED EXTENSIVELY : SHELL PRODUCTS

CHLORDANE AND HEPTACHLOR USED EXTENSIVELY :VELSICOL PRODUCTS
 
MANY PEOPLE WERE POISONED BY THESE INSECTICIDES
 
SLOW POISONING SOMETIMES OCCURRED AFTER PEST CONTROL TREATMENTS

LAND AND WATERWAYS WERE CONTAMINATED 


Pest Control Companies used aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane and heptachlor

CHLORDANE IS A MIXTURE OF CHEMICALS
 
IT CONTAINS UP TO 140 DIFFERENT COMPOUNDS
 
IT WAS AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIAN SUPERMAKETS UNTIL THE MID-1990s
 
IT IS REGULARLY DETECTED IN FOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENT


Old chlordane bottles were collected for special disposal


POPs contamination (DDT and dioxins) ended fishing on Homebush Bay

 CASE STUDY: THE SYDNEY OLYMPIC SITE

 THE SITE WAS ONCE AN URBAN WASTELAND ON SHORES OF HOMEBUSH BAY
 
THERE WAS EXTENSIVE TESTING FOR POPS AS PART OF PRE - OLYMPIC CLEAN - UP (1990s)
 
NOT MANY PCBs WERE DETECTED AT THE SITE
 
OTHER POPS WERE DETECTED
 
POPS DESTRUCTION TOOK PLACE AT THE SITE
 
NON-INCINERATION METHOD WAS USED (1999 - 2001)


Homebush Bay, The Parramatta River and Sydney Olympic Site :pre - clean -up

 MID-1980S

 POPS WASTES: A MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE
 
HIGH TEMPERATURE INCINERATOR PROPOSED
 
LACK OF PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT TO UNDERSTAND TECHNICAL PROCESSES
 
INFORMATION ON RISKS WAS SCARCE: LONG PUBLIC DEBATE
 
SUSPICION ABOUT HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES

IN 1987, A KEY EDUCATIONAL REPORT WAS RELEASED.
 
CONSERVATIONIST'S PERSPECTIVES ON HAZARDOUS WASTE AIMED TO ASSIST THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND THE VARIOUS OPTIONS FOR POPS DESTRUCTION.
 
INCINERATION TECHNOLOGY WAS OPPOSED
 
IT WAS RECOMMENDED THAT A VARIETY OF TECHNOLOGIES BE USED TO DEAL WITH THE NATION'S MIXED WASTE STREAM.

IN THE LATE 1980S, AN INDEPENDENT PANEL ON INTRACTABLE (POPs) WASTE WAS FORMED
 
THE PANEL IDENTIFIED A WIDE VARIETY OF WASTE STREAMS
 
IT CONCLUDED THAT THE BEST OPTIONS INCLUDED SMALL, POSSIBLY RELOCATABLE, TECHNOLOGIES
 
SOME OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES WERE UNDER DEVELOPMENT

ASSESSMENT, CONSULTATION AND LICENCING TOOK A LOT OF TIME
 
WITHOUT COMMERCIALLY VIABLE DESTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES, POPS WASTE, INCLUDING PCBS REMAINED A MAJOR PROBLEM.

MANY TONNES DESTROYED

• 1700 TONNES IN STORAGE
• UNKNOWN QUANTITY PLACED IN LANDFILLS
• 3500-7000 TONNES LOST TO THE ENVIRONMENT
• 5000-9000 TONNES OUTSTANDING
• ACCURATE DATA NOT AVAILABLE

THE PROPER MANAGEMENT OF POPS TRANSPORT AND STORAGE WERE CRITICAL TO PUBLIC AND WORKER SAFETY
 
THESE PRACTICAL ISSUES DID NOT ATTRACT THE SAME MEDIA INTEREST AS "DIOXIN" AND "HIGH TEMPERATURE INCINERATORS"
 
THIS LIMITED THE POLITICAL PRESSURE THAT COULD BE APPLIED
 
AS A RESULT, HEALTH AND SAFETY WERE NOT GIVEN THE PRIORITY

WORKERS HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT WERE COMPROMISED FOR SOME YEARS.

ANOTHER CONSULTATIVE BODY WAS SET UP CALLED THE NATIONAL ADVISORY BODY ON SCHEDULED WASTE (NAB)
 
A DETAILED CONSULTATION PROCESS WITH THE COMMUNITY WAS ESTABLISHED TO LOOK AT DESTRUCTION OPTIONS
 
MANY TECHNICAL PAPERS WERE PRODUCED

EVENTUALLY MANAGEMENT PLANS WERE PRODUCED FOR PCBS, HCB AND DDT WASTES

ONE OF THE MAIN OUTCOMES OF THE NAB PROCESS WAS THE FINDING THAT COMMUNITY CONSULTATION NEEDS TO BE HIGH QUALITY
 
ONE OF THE KEY AREAS WAS THE NEED TO EXPLAIN PCB BODY DAMAGE
 
THE NEXT THREE IMAGES SHOW HOW VULNERABLE THE EARLY STAGE FOETUS IS TO THE IMPACT OF POPS LIKE PCBS.


From the book"Chemical Risks and The Unborn: A Parent's Guide"

THE NAB PROCESS

• RECOGNISED THE TOXICITY OF POPS LIKE PCBS
• GAVE PRIORITY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
• PRODUCED FOUR POPS MANAGEMENT PLANS

  LESSONS LEARNED 

• HIGH QUALITY MANAGEMENT IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCESSFUL DESTRUCTION OF POPS
• BEFORE ACTUAL DESTRUCTION TAKES PLACE, OTHER PROCESSES MUST BE COMPLETED

INVESTIGATION OF POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED SOILS
 
IDENTIFICATION OF POLLUTION TYPE/S
 
DEVELOPENT OF MANAGEMENT PLAN
 
MANAGEMENT PLAN TO INCLUDE

• TRANSPARENT TECHNICAL PROCESS / DESCRIPTION AND ASSESSMENT
• HIGH QUALITY REPORTING STANDARDS
• COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY INFORMATION
• HIGH QUALITY COMMUNICATION THROUGH THE MASS MEDIA

 INVESTIGATING POLLUTION SHOULD BE DONE BY EXPERIENCED AND QUALIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
 
THESE COMPANIES TAKE SAMPLES FROM THE ENVIRONMENT
 
THE SAMPLES ARE TESTED
 
SAMPLES CAN BE TAKEN FROM ANY PART OF THE ENVIRONMENT; EG

• AIR (INDOOR, OUTDOOR)
• SOIL AND SEDIMENT
• SURFACE WATER AND GROUNDWATER
  

Drilling down to test for pollution

AFTER TESTING, EXCAVATION OF CONTAMINATED WASTES MAY BE UNDERTAKEN
 
AT THE HOMEBUSH BAY SITE (NEXT IMAGE,) POPs WASTES WERE FOUND
 
NO PCBS WERE FOUND IN ANY SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES
 
THE CONTAMINATED WASTES WERE SET ASIDE PENDING ENQUIRY INTO THEIR RESPONSIBLE DESTRUCTION
 
THE WASTES WERE LATER DESTROYED ON SITE USING A INDIRECT DESORPTION METHOD (NON - INCINERATION)
 
THE COMMUNITY WAS KEPT INFORMED EVERY STEP OF THE WAY THROUGH A CONSULTATION PROCESS (HBERG)


Many different pollutants were found at the Homebush Bay site

CONTAMINATED WASTES CAN BE REMOVED FROM LANDFILL SITES
 
AFTER THIS, A PROCESS KNOWN AS "VALIDATION" MUST BE UNDERTAKEN
 
AT HOMEBUSH BAY OLYMIC SITE (NEXT IMAGE) MIXED WASTES IN LANDFILL WERE EXCAVATED DOWN TO THE BEDROCK
 
THE WASTES FOUND AT THIS SITE INCLUDED POPs WASTES
 
THIS AREA WAS VALIDATED AND DEVELOPED AS A MAN - MADE WETLAND
 
THIS WETLAND IS NOW PART OF THE WATER RECYCLING SCHEME AT SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK

WWW.OCA.NSW.GOV.AU/ECOLOGY

THESE WEB SITES CONTAIN A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AT SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK
 
MAJOR TOPICS COVERED INCLUDE
REMEDIATION, SCHEDULED CHEMICAL WASTES, MONITORING, REPORT BACK AND VALIDATION, CONSULTATION PROCESS, AND REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DATA BASES