By Kirsty Ross
POTENTIALLY harmful levels of lead at Altona parkland has thrown a planned redevelopment into disarray, as Hobsons Bay City Council admits it cannot cover the additional cost.
The council admitted last week that despite allocating $100,000 in its 2006/07 budget for works at the Truganina Explosives Reserve, the full cost of decontamination and further landscaping was beyond its means.
Hobsons Bay mayor Carl Marsich said the decontamination would require “significant funds and resources beyond the council’s ability to provide.”
In the meantime, the reserve is a “no-go zone” for the public while the park’s caretaker and his family have been relocated.
Low levels of contamination had been identified previously, but new tests by an independent environmental auditor recently revealed higher than expected levels.
Cr Marsich said tests showed lead concentrations were too high for the intended use of the site and “above the normal acceptable level”.
The contaminated soil is in the area around the caretaker’s cottage and the park’s 1897 homestead.
Volunteers have been working at the site for several years on weed eradication, planting and reinstating the original gardens.
Cr Marsich said the health and wellbeing of residents and reserve users was council’s “number one priority”.
“All site activities, including planting days and tours, will either be postponed or relocated to an alternative site,” he said.
The Truganina Explosives Reserve Preservation Society said more than 40 of its workers were recently contacted by council about the contamination and had been offered medical advice.
Society secretary Judy Hindle said it was the right decision to keep people off site.
“We don’t know the full extent of how severe the contamination is, so it’s probably a good precautionary measure at this point,” Ms Hindle said.
She said she was not concerned about her own health despite spending years on site.
“If you know there is contamination you are cautious in what you do.
“We got rid of a vegetable garden we had for the risk of someone maybe taking the vegetables and not knowing if they were contaminated or not,” she said.
Council is seeking funding from the State Government to assist in the major rehabilitation works.
It would not reveal further details to Star of the exact levels of lead contamination or when the tests were completed.
The higher lead concentrations could see redevelopment works put back for several months.
Western Region Environment Network director Harry Van Moorst said the public had a right to know the exact results of the environment audit.
He also suggested that tests be done on local waterways.
“You can bet your boots that the real contamination doesn’t just lie at the house,” Mr Van Moorst said.
“It’ll be spread through much further, and what the responsible authorities ought to be doing at this stage is tracing its history back to see how far exactly the contamination extends to other areas in that vicinity.
“They should be testing the sediments in the creek.”
The Environment Protection Authority said it had no direct involvement in the management of the site but were happy to provide advice and assistance.
Truganina Explosives Reserve is a 17-hectare site used for the handling and shipping of explosives from 1901 to 1962.
A campaign by local residents and council kept the site in public hands in 2000 and the City of Hobsons Bay was appointed as the management committee.
A coastal management plan was prepared and adopted in 2003 to guide the ongoing development of the site and deal with issues of contamination and rehabilitation.
