The operator of the Campbellfield warehouse that erupted into an industrial blaze in Melbourne's north is linked to four other warehouses stockpiled with toxic chemical waste.
The Age can reveal that waste disposal company Bradbury Industrial Services controls illicit stockpiles of chemicals found at three warehouses in Craigieburn and another in Campbellfield in March by authorities.
The revelation comes after 175 firefighters battled the highly toxic fire that broke out at Bradbury’s facility on Thornycroft Street early on Friday morning.
Buildings and vehicles were turned into fireballs and chemical drums sent soaring high above the warehouse as the inferno raged for hours.
The fire, which sent plumes of black smoke into the air that drifted as far south as Melbourne's CBD and forced the closure of schools and businesses, is expected to burn for days.
Two young workers were hospitalised, one with serious burns, who was in an induced coma in The Alfred hospital on Friday night, and the other with an eye injury.
It is believed the man with serious burns was injured when a chemical drum he was carrying exploded.
Victorian Coroner Darren Bracken, who can examine a fire regardless of whether a person has died, will investigate the cause of the blaze.
A chemical drum can be seen flying through the air above the inferno on Friday. Credit: Nine News
The Environment Protection Authority is expected to face tough questions about its regulation of the industry amid reports the Bradbury’s site still contained a massive quantity of illegally stored chemical waste despite the regulator ordering a clean-up more than three weeks ago.
Bradbury’s licence to accept hazardous waste was suspended in March after an inspection by the EPA and emergency services discovered serious problems with its handling of highly flammable and toxic chemicals.
This included stockpiling 450,000 litres of chemical waste on the property - more than three times the amount permitted under its licence.
Inspectors returned to Bradbury on Thursday to discover the illicit stockpile remained an issue despite the clean-up order.
EPA executive director Damian Wells defended the agency’s oversight of the facility, which caught fire only a day after its personnel attended.
"These are highly flammable materials and I guess in terms of moving them it’s quite a significant operation. It’s not for the EPA to get in and move these materials. It’s up to that licence holder to deal with those materials appropriately," Mr Wells said.
"We are talking about significant risk in terms of solvents, inks and so forth. EPA licences govern facilities where there is inherent dangers. That’s why holding a licence is a privilege."
Firefighters on the scene in Campbellfield.Credit: Paul Jeffers
The licence suspension meant Bradbury was no longer able to accept waste, but was able to process the materials onsite until it became compliant again.
Bradbury Industrial Services has a chequered history of compliance, including having its licence suspended and paying a $15,000 fine in 2016 after the EPA found the company had inappropriately stockpiled 40,000 litres of waste at another property in Campbellfield. That investigation followed the outbreak of a fire in 2013.
Authorities have been on high alert about the dangers posed by illicitly dumped chemical waste in the wake of last year’s massive industrial fire at a West Footscray warehouse that burned for three days and spewed plumes of toxic smoke over Melbourne.
As part of that investigation, EPA and WorkSafe officers have discovered 12 warehouses in Melbourne’s north packed with drums and plastic containers containing chemical waste.
Plumes of black smoke from the fire in Campbellfield.Credit: Paul Jeffers
Eight of them in Campbellfield and Epping are connected to Wallan-based businessman Graham Leslie White, who is allegedly responsible for what has become the largest illicit dumping operation in the state’s history.
Up to 19 million litres of chemical waste are estimated to be stored on those properties.
White was recently sentenced to six months' jail for amassing an arsenal of deadly firearms in a separate criminal matter.
Last month, another four dump sites were uncovered in Craigieburn and Campbellfield that sources say are linked to the Bradbury waste disposal operation.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the government was acting in response to growing problems in the waste industry with ramped-up inspections by the EPA, WorkSafe and fire authorities in recent months.
"I don't think anybody could credibly accuse the government and its agencies of not being out there looking," he said.
"We have been doing an enormous amount of spot auditing and checking to make sure the rules are followed."
But opposition environment spokesman David Morris challenged the government’s record, saying it was "more focused on excuses than solutions".
"Three hazardous waste management fires in two years isn't a coincidence, it's a sign that there is a massive problem with the Andrews Labor government's management of this issue," he said.
Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said current penalties were not strong enough to ward off industry cowboys.
"It's completely unacceptable for toxic chemical fires to be erupting with such frequency. It puts workers, families and firefighters at risk," she said.
With Michael Fowler, AAP