Cockburn Cement found guilty over stinking emissions

Cockburn Cement has been found guilty of emitting unreasonable emissions from its plant in Perth’s southern suburbs after residents living nearby recounted being confined to their homes due to a strong stench.

The Adbri subsidiary was found guilty on six counts and acquitted of the remaining seven charges, after Magistrate Heidi Watson said she was satisfied the emissions had caused inconvenience and unreasonably interfered with the amenity of residents.

Adbri’s Cockburn Cement lime plant on Perth’s southern suburb of Munster has long attracted complaints from nearby residents about dust and stench.Credit: Peter Milne

Cockburn Cement was hit with 13 counts of emitting an unreasonable emission under the state’s Environmental Protection laws in 2019 after a monitoring program by the environmental regulator.

By definition, the charge relates to an emission capable of interfering with the health, welfare, convenience, comfort or amenity of any person.

The charges followed numerous complaints from residents in the suburbs adjacent to the company’s 67-year-old lime plant in Munster, which burns shell sand and coal to create lime and is one of the biggest cement producers in Western Australia.

More than a dozen residents who made complaints to a pollution hotline gave evidence during a three-week trial in August, detailing the impact the sulfur stench from the plant had on their daily lives which many likened to that of a high school chemistry lab.

One resident told of being driven inside his home after a downwind from the lime plant left an odour lingering around his home for several hours in March and April of 2019.

Others told of how life events and day-to-day activities had been affected, with birthday parties cut short, plans changed and parents bringing their children inside to play.

Some told the court they had contemplated leaving the area permanently.

Several witnesses alleged the emissions were affecting their health, complaining of stinging nostrils, dry eyes, breathing issues, headaches and nausea.

But Magistrate Watson made it clear it was not her role to assess alleged health effects and that she was dealing exclusively with whether the odour unreasonably interfered with the amenity of those in the immediate vicinity.

The Cockburn Cement facility in Munster is located close to residential sub-divisions.Credit: Google Earth

Cockburn Cement’s legal team had argued the operations provided social utility, contributing to the economy and providing employment opportunities for West Australians.

It also argued that the emissions had occurred in accordance with its operating licence.

But that assertion was rejected by Magistrate Watson.

While finding residents living beside an industrial area could not expect the same level of amenity as though living in the far-flung corners of Western Australia, Magistrate Watson said they were still entitled to protection.

“They can’t accept the same peace, quiet and enjoyable amenity as those on farms, but that doesn’t mean they are not entitled to expect to be protected from emissions,” she said.

All the submissions endorsed by the court were supported by wind direction evidence, proving the odour was coming from Cockburn Cement’s lime plant.

The matter has been adjourned until December before sentencing in early 2023.

Each of the charges carries a maximum fine of $125,000 and an extra $25,000 for every day of offending.

Last year, the company’s Cockburn operations put it in the top 12 for big emitting facilities in the state, with greenhouse gas emissions exceeding 1 million tonnes annually.

Cockburn Cement counts Alcoa, South32 and a swathe of gold miners among its biggest customers, who use the lime produced to turn bauxite into alumina.

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