Toxic fumes in three Adelaide homes
The majority of homes in a contamination testing zone in Adelaide’s southern suburbs have been declared safe, but residents in three properties will be relocated quickly due to potentially dangerous levels of contamination.
Residents in 31 Clovelly Park homes learned in July they would be relocated after elevated levels of the industrial sovlent trichloroethylene (TCE) were found in their soil and air.
TCE, used as a metal cleaner in industrial settings, can be carcinogenic when people are exposed to high levels over an extended period.
Test results released on Wednesday show there was no TCE detected in 1352 of the 1400 properties assessed for contamination in Clovelly Park and neighbouring Mitchell Park.
But potentially dangerous contamination levels of 20 to 200 micrograms of TCE per cubic metre were found in three occupied properties.
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Environment Minister Ian Hunter says the residents of those houses were already scheduled to be relocated in the next two weeks but will be given the option of leaving sooner.
“This assessment provides the clearest picture yet of the environmental conditions in the area and whether there is any health risk related to TCE exposure,” Hunter said.
“It clears the vast majority of the assessment area from any health risk from TCE exposure.”
Six occupied properties would require further investigation, he said.
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The Opposition earlier this year called for Hunter to resign after it emerged the government knew about contamination issues at Clovelly Park about six weeks before raising the issue with residents.
Former head of the Environmental Protection Authority, Campbell Gemmell, told InDaily in July that the State Government lacked the will to address the legacy of contamination in Adelaide.
“The problem can be addressed as it has largely been in Germany, the UK, US etc but it has to be seen as a priority by governments for this to happen,” he said.
“And where there are many (usually small) sites in the higher risk profile categories, there may not be sufficient funds or political support available to – quickly – tackle the problem. This issue was repeatedly discussed with government during my time in SA.”
TCE is a carcinogen that has been linked with a host of adverse health impacts on the central nervous system, kidney, liver, immune system and male reproductive system.
The Clovelly Park homes are near several industrial sites, including the former Mitsubishi factory where, in 2009, testing of bores on the perimeter found levels of TCE and other contaminants.
– with AAP
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