❓ Dr. Thomas questions the Minister for Environment regarding PFAS contamination at the Stanley Road waste facility and related sites, including monitoring regimes, concentrations, and responsible parties. The Minister provides details on monitoring, responsible parties, and PFAS concentrations in soil and groundwater at various locations.
AnsweredQoN 782Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
PFAS CONTAMINATION — STANLEY ROAD WASTE MANAGEMENT
FACILITY
782. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Minister for Environment:
I refer to the perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination at the Stanley Road waste management
facility run by the City of Bunbury and the Shire of Harvey, which has resulted
in commercial waste no longer being accepted at the facility.
(1) What PFAS
monitoring and testing regime has been undertaken to assess the Stanley Road
contamination plume and its risks on the surrounding residential properties,
conservation wetlands and the Brunswick and Wellesley rivers?
(2) Who is undertaking the
monitoring and testing regime and will real-time alerts be available?
(3) What is the concentration of
PFAS in the soil at the Stanley Road site?
(4) What is the
concentration of PFAS in the soil extracted from the Forrestfield–Airport
Link tunnel project?
(5) What is the concentration of
PFAS in the groundwater under and near the Stanley Road site?
(6) What is the
concentration of PFAS in the groundwater under the storage site of the FAL
spoil at 777 Abernethy Road, Forrestfield?
FACILITY
782. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Minister for Environment:
I refer to the perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination at the Stanley Road waste management
facility run by the City of Bunbury and the Shire of Harvey, which has resulted
in commercial waste no longer being accepted at the facility.
(1) What PFAS
monitoring and testing regime has been undertaken to assess the Stanley Road
contamination plume and its risks on the surrounding residential properties,
conservation wetlands and the Brunswick and Wellesley rivers?
(2) Who is undertaking the
monitoring and testing regime and will real-time alerts be available?
(3) What is the concentration of
PFAS in the soil at the Stanley Road site?
(4) What is the
concentration of PFAS in the soil extracted from the Forrestfield–Airport
Link tunnel project?
(5) What is the concentration of
PFAS in the groundwater under and near the Stanley Road site?
(6) What is the
concentration of PFAS in the groundwater under the storage site of the FAL
spoil at 777 Abernethy Road, Forrestfield?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the honourable member for the question. Noting that this is a six-part
question, obviously there is a six-part answer.
(1) The Stanley Road waste management facility is
subject to ongoing groundwater monitoring under the conditions of its
licence under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 and additional
requirements to investigate groundwater contamination in accordance with the
site's classification under the Contaminated Sites Act 2003. Ongoing
requirements for investigation of the plume were updated when the site was
reclassified as ''contaminated—remediation required'' on
15 September 2021. Those requirements are outlined in the site's
classification, which is available on the public ''contaminated sites''
database through the website of the Department of Water and Environmental
Regulation.
(2) It is Bunbury
Harvey Regional Council. I understand that the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council
has engaged an environmental consultant to undertake investigations.
(3) The focus of
the investigation at the Stanley Road site was on leachate migrating from the
waste material through to the groundwater. Soil concentrations were not
relevant to this investigation. Consequently, no soil samples have been
analysed for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
(4) Analysis of
tunnel spoil material extracted in the Forrestfield–Airport Link
project found that the majority of the
tunnel spoil did not contain any detectable PFAS and the maximum concentration
of perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, detected was approximately 0.006
milligrams per kilogram in a soil sample from the Bayswater dive structure.
(5) The maximum
concentration sum of PFOS plus perfluorohexane sulfonate, or PFHxS, within the
landfill site is 0.75 micrograms per litre. The maximum concentration of PFOS
and PFHxS detected offsite is 0.422 micrograms per litre.
(6) A PFAS
investigation undertaken at the site in 2017 found a maximum concentration of
PFOS and PFHxS of 0.16 micrograms per litre in groundwater beneath the site.
The PRESIDENT : Indeed, this
is a good opportunity to remind members of standing orders 105 and 106, which
require that questions and answers be concise.
thank the honourable member for the question. Noting that this is a six-part
question, obviously there is a six-part answer.
(1) The Stanley Road waste management facility is
subject to ongoing groundwater monitoring under the conditions of its
licence under Part V of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 and additional
requirements to investigate groundwater contamination in accordance with the
site's classification under the Contaminated Sites Act 2003. Ongoing
requirements for investigation of the plume were updated when the site was
reclassified as ''contaminated—remediation required'' on
15 September 2021. Those requirements are outlined in the site's
classification, which is available on the public ''contaminated sites''
database through the website of the Department of Water and Environmental
Regulation.
(2) It is Bunbury
Harvey Regional Council. I understand that the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council
has engaged an environmental consultant to undertake investigations.
(3) The focus of
the investigation at the Stanley Road site was on leachate migrating from the
waste material through to the groundwater. Soil concentrations were not
relevant to this investigation. Consequently, no soil samples have been
analysed for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
(4) Analysis of
tunnel spoil material extracted in the Forrestfield–Airport Link
project found that the majority of the
tunnel spoil did not contain any detectable PFAS and the maximum concentration
of perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS, detected was approximately 0.006
milligrams per kilogram in a soil sample from the Bayswater dive structure.
(5) The maximum
concentration sum of PFOS plus perfluorohexane sulfonate, or PFHxS, within the
landfill site is 0.75 micrograms per litre. The maximum concentration of PFOS
and PFHxS detected offsite is 0.422 micrograms per litre.
(6) A PFAS
investigation undertaken at the site in 2017 found a maximum concentration of
PFOS and PFHxS of 0.16 micrograms per litre in groundwater beneath the site.
The PRESIDENT : Indeed, this
is a good opportunity to remind members of standing orders 105 and 106, which
require that questions and answers be concise.
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