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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-14 Daily Xml
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BORE WATER

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:55): My question is to the Minister for Health. Why is it important enough for the SA Health Department to issue a public warning against the consumption of bore water in the Beverley and Woodville South area after the discovery of the chemical trichloroethylene in groundwater, but not to issue a public notice to residents in the Woodville Park area adjacent to the General Motors Holden site when testing of their bores in 2004 revealed water heavily contaminated with chromium?

In 2004, a number of bores were drilled on the GMH plant site at Woodville revealing high levels of contamination by chromium. The yellow water was cleaned off some of the offending material and placed in 44 gallon drums, and the rest pumped back underground. This groundwater testing was all under the supervision of the Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation. The opposition is informed that the geologist at the time confirmed that it could 'take up to 100 years to clean it', but no further action has been taken and no public warning has been issued.

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (14:57): I will have a close look at the question raised by the honourable member. She is going back to something that happened allegedly four years ago. However, it is a matter of great moment to her and I will have a look at it. I will just put into general context what the Health Department does: it gives advice to the public when the public is endangered. If the point she is making is that contaminated water was found, that is one thing. There is no need to inform the public if they are not at risk from that water.

Let me tell the member what happened in relation to the Beverley and Woodville South domestic bores. People in that area were drawing water out of the ground and using it for a range of purposes. The residents of Beverley and Woodville South had been warned not to use groundwater from residential bores for drinking, cooking or other domestic purposes. All residents in the affected area bounded by East Avenue, Findon Road, Glenlossie Street and Alfred Avenue have been advised in writing and through media releases issued on 18 December last year and 16 January this year. The warnings were issued following the detection of trichloroethylene (TCE) from bores in the area. Concentrations were well above drinking water guidelines. TCE is an industrial chemical widely used as a metal cleaner and degreaser, but long-term exposure may lead to cancer.

The Department of Health was notified of the contamination by the EPA and is collaborating with the EPA on further investigations to ascertain the extent of contamination. Following the initial media release on 18 December, the Department of Health commissioned testing of residential bores in the Woodville South area. The results from this testing established the affected area. The Department of Health has a duty to inform the public if they are at risk from any source of contamination, and that is what they have done in this case. If in the case the member refers to there was no threat to the public, there would be no basis on which the Department of Health could issue a warning. Of course, contamination of water and contamination of soil is something that the government does take seriously.

The member would be aware that, just recently, the parliament passed legislation which deals with site contamination, particularly in an historic context. I am happy to get a report for the member in relation to the incident that she referred to and let her know whether or not there have been any health issues in relation to that (but I suspect not if no public announcements have been made) and whether or not any clean-up arrangements are in place.

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