Melbourne’s biggest environmental disasters: Chemical spills, tip fires
The population in Melbourne’s west is booming, but it’s also home to some of the city’s worst environmental disasters — some of which are still being investigated.
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Toxic factory fires and chemical emissions from industrial sites have long plagued people living in Melbourne’s west.
Despite the region’s massive population growth as homeowners flock to the area drawn by cheaper land and house prices, environmental crises keep occurring.
Here’s a wrap of some of the biggest environmental issues to rock Melbourne’s west.
Some are resolved, others are ongoing.
In an area home to some of the country’s fastest growing suburbs such as Wyndham and Melton, it begs the question; why does this keep happening?
Coode Island fire
On August 21, 1991, just after 2pm, a series of explosions at Coode Island caused one of the worst chemical fires in Melbourne’s history.
Eight storage tanks containing more than six million litres of hazardous chemicals ignited, sending plumes of potentially toxic smoke into the air.
A westerly wind blew the smog over city buildings and nearby schools and buildings were evacuated.
More than 150 firefighters were needed to bring the blaze under control and the cause of the fire, which was never confirmed, was thought to have been due to chemicals reacting in an overheated tank, or a possible lightning strike.
A further fire erupted the following day after a ruptured pipeline at the site caused another explosion.
A Government ordered report into the incident found Coode Island chemical storage facilities fell short of international standards and companies on the island had ignored government regulations.
Government agencies had also failed to properly monitor the chemical facility to ensure standards were met, and the public was not given adequate information about the health risks resulting from the blaze.
Laverton North/ Brooklyn
Fires broke out just weeks apart at industrial sites in Melbourne’s west in January as the city emerged from its second coronavirus wave.
Pandemic weary Melburnians were confronted with blazes at Infrabuild metal recycling plant in Laverton North on January 4, at the Norstar Steel Recyclers on January 11, and at a Brooklyn landfill in Old Geelong Rd on January 25.
The state’s Environmental Protection Authority conducted air quality monitoring during the Norstar blaze that found particles in the smoke.
The EPA also revealed after the fire that Norstar was earlier fined $16,321 following a fire at the company’s Dandenong South plant.
Air quality monitoring was undertaken at the time of the January 4 Infrabuild fire, and air quality was deemed good throughout the incident.
But high concentrations of dust were detected in the air following the Brooklyn landfill blaze, which occurred after a fire broke out in a pile of building material.
Fire Rescue Victoria is still investigating the cause of the Brooklyn fire.
Toxic soil
Debate has surrounded a proposal to dump toxic soil excavated from the State Government’s $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel project in Melbourne’s west.
The EPA last year gave approval for the soil, contaminated by dangerous and possibly cancer causing PFAS and asbestos chemicals, to be stored at locations in Bacchus Marsh, Ravenhall and Bulla.
But in December it suddenly reversed its decision after it found it had not met state regulations when it approved the proposal to dump the dirt at those sites.
Fury has surrounded the issue, particularly by residents in and around Bacchus Marsh.
The Bacchus Marsh dump site is just metres from a school and members of the public have campaigned strongly to dump the soil elsewhere.
Confusion on where to store the soil has caused massive delays in the project, which was initially slated for completion in 2022.
2018 West Footscray fire
One of Melbourne’s worst industrial fires broke out at a large factory in Sommerville Rd, West Footscray, on August 30, 2018.
Massive amounts of illegally stockpiled chemicals ignited and it took more than 750 firefighters 17 hours to bring the blaze under control.
It was later found the factory had enough toxic waste on site to fill six Olympic swimming pools.
Last year, after an almost two year investigation, Delacor Pty Ltd and company director Graham Leslie White were charged with more than 30 criminal offences.
The company has been charged with multiple accounts of aggravated pollution, permitting the pollution of a local waterway and causing an environmental hazard.
Derrimut chemical leak
Firefighters and specialist crews trained in dealing with dangerous substances were called to a chemical leak at an industrial site in Hunter Rd, Derrimut, on February 23, 2021.
Emergency services were called just after 3.30am after a chemical, believed to be a herbicide, was spotted leaking from a shipping container.
Staff at the site isolated the container and covered it with an absorbent before firefighters arrived.
Surrounding sites were evacuated as a precaution and it took fire crews 45 minutes to bring the incident under control.
Air quality monitoring was conducted and emergency crews and police were expected to remain on site for some time on Tuesday.
Kealba landfill
A fire raging at Kealba tip for more than a year has created a stench that locals say is making them sick.
Four fire “hot spots” deep inside the landfill have caused fumes from burning rubbish to waft over neighbouring residential suburbs.
Residents have likened the stench to burning “dead bodies”, and some say putrid smell is so bad it caused breathing difficulties and headaches.
One man told the Leader he’s even woken up vomiting because of the smell.
In December the tip’s operator, Barro Group, finally announced it had stopped accepting waste until further notice.
The cause of the fires are still being investigated and it is unknown when they will be put out.
AkzoNobel, Sunshine North
Fumes from multinational paint manufacturer AkzoNobel’s Sunshine North site are enough to make surrounding households gag, residents say.
Noise from industrial fans also keep people awake and members of the public have been fighting to force the EPA and the company to take action on the issues.
Ami Luu, of Sunshine North, said the chemical odour was “sickly sweet” and she worried about the possible long term health impacts.
Other residents had reported experiencing blurry vision, headaches and mild confusion as a result of breathing in the fumes, she said, and issues regarding noise at the site had been ongoing for years.
The EPA has issued AkzoNobel with a number of remedial notices in recent months.
AkzoNobel said it had conducted air quality monitoring and testing to improve noise suppression.
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