Did you know that, after over a century, contaminated soil at Hunters Hill will finally be cleaned up and moved out and sent overseas to Idaho, United States?
According to Rob Stokes, Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, the NSW Government’s proposal to dispose of contaminated Australian soil by moving it to Idaho in the U.S. has received overwhelming support from the local community. The NSW Government secured approval for the waste to be transported overseas by the U.S., and after a century of enduring polluted land, one of the most prominent health risks in Hunters Hill will finally become a thing of the past.
“This proposal is the culmination of years of extensive and complex investigation to find the best solution for the community and I’m pleased we have finally reached an agreement,” Mr Stokes said. “This safe and secure plan will mean these waterfront properties, which have laid dormant for decades, can now be used once the waste is safely moved away.”
Photo credit: Facebook/Rob Stokes
Excavation of the site and packing the contaminated material will be carried out by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, or ANSTO, who will also handle the soil’s transportation to the United States.
The soil, which has been contaminated radiologically and chemically from industrial activity throughout the centuries, primarily the 1800s to the 1900s, has been the source of a lot of stress for the Hunters Hill community for decades. The area was the site of a coal tar distillation plant which produced a great deal of carbolic acid between 1900 and 1911 before being used for uranium ore processing until 1914.
The decision to transport the soil to America has been described as “…a big win for local people…” according to Mr Stokes. “I’m glad we’ve finally arrived at an outcome that deals with this issue once and for all.”
The pollution caused by the contaminated soil had gotten so bad that the government was forced to acquire three Hunters Hill homes that were too dangerous to live in. Excavating and transporting the contaminated soil is a meticulous process that will take roughly 18 months to complete, and the operation will commence in earnest sometime in July 2021.