Hunters Hill site remediation in final stages
The NSW Government is in the final stages of resolving a contaminated land issue that has plagued a waterfront site in Hunters Hill for more than 100 years.
The contamination was caused by historic industrial activity when the site operated as a carbolic acid plant between 1897 and 1909, and the used by Radium Hill Refinery between 1911 and 1915.
As a result of this work, soil along the foreshore had been contaminated with coal tar waste material and heavy metals.
The soil was also contaminated with low-level naturally occurring radioactive material, caused by the radium processing plant, however, experts considered the material to not be a risk to human health if it was suitably managed or controlled.
Over the last two years, more than 3000m3 of contaminated waste has been transported off site, equivalent to the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
NSW Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper commented on the work.
“This is a great outcome for the people of Nelson Parade and the local environment,” he said.
“Property and Development NSW and the Waste Asset Management Corporation has worked for many years to find the best solution to clean up the land and safely remove the contaminated waste.”
An independent environment expert validation report will now be undertaken to confirm the remediation works have been completed.
Furthermore, an independent NSW Environment Protection Authority site auditor will verify that the remediation work has meet requirements.