Family returns to property in Beverly after EPA declared it a contamination ‘safe-zone’
A FAMILY forced to flee their home over dangerous toxic fears for their toddler son have returned to the Beverly property after the EPA declared it a contamination “safe-zone”.
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A FAMILY forced to flee their home over dangerous toxic fears for their toddler son have returned to the Beverly property after the EPA declared it a contamination “safe-zone”.
John and Cate, who did not want their surname published, opted to leave their home last year after the Environment Protection Authority found high levels of trichloroethene (TCE) a carcinogenic vapour.
The contamination fears were so great that it was the only South Australian home to be equipped with a vapour mitigation device to monitor toxic levels from the soil.
The couple said vapour contamination was not well understood in Australia and the fact their house was the first in SA to have a mitigation device — a series of underground pipes and a fan — installed meant that everything the EPA did was without precedent.
The soil vapour testing will continue intermittently for three years.
Tender documents show that up to 48 of their neighbours will have a new round of vapour tests at their homes in February and July next year.
A total of 26 new groundwater wells will be installed in Beverley and Glenelg East, where 38 wells are set to be sampled twice to establish whether a former dry cleaning facility has contaminated the area.
EPA testing last year found TCE levels at five Beverley properties fell within the intervention range, above the levels detected at Clovelly Park.
Another eight were deemed to require further testing, while seven returned results in the safe range.
John and Cate said the action taken over the issue at their home “could have been done better” but they harboured no ill-will towards the EPA.
“Other households in Beverley are facing similar issues to us and are at different stages of dealing with it,” he said.
“We hope the lessons the EPA has learnt will make it easier for others to negotiate the process with more certainty and less anxiety.”
Despite the inconvenience, Cate said she didn’t regret her decision to purchase the West St home eight years ago.
Many Beverley businesses and homeowners are reluctant to allow the EPA to conduct soil vapour testing. Residents told The Advertiser they feared the detection of high TCE levels would reduce their property’s value.
Only 20 of the 48 residents approached by the EPA allowed testing to occur at their homes, in the last round of testing this year.
Cate urged other residents to undergo the testing.
“The source of the contamination (groundwater) is travelling and it’s not going to go away,” she said.
EPA operations director Peter Dolan said it continued to work through contamination issues in the Beverley area.
“The EPA has kept residents and property owners in the Beverley assessment area informed and advising them not to use groundwater (bore water) for any purpose until further notice,” Mr Dolan said.