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Hornery, Sonia to the
Minister for the Environment, and Minister for Heritage
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- Why were the people in the "outer zone" of the residential area of
Stockton not informed earlier that they could be affected by the Orica toxic
leak?
- If there is nothing to worry about in terms of outfall, why have residents'
houses been hosed down?
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Answer -
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I am advised as follows:
- The "outer zone" was identified by the Office of Environment and
Heritage as a precautionary measure, to ensure that Orica could not avoid its
responsibilities to clean up the contaminants it released.
Modelling
undertaken by the Office of Environment and Heritage, together with ground
inspections, identified the area anticipated to be most affected by Orica's
discharge. This area was described as the "inner zone" and the purpose
of delineating it was to require Orica to focus its clean up efforts on that
zone and start work immediately. The outer zone was included in the Clean Up
Notice so that if additional properties were detected with deposits of the
contaminant, Orica would be obliged to clean these as well.
- Orica had a duty to ensure the properties were cleaned, even if the
deposited material presented no risk to human health.
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Question asked on 23 August 2011 (session 55-1)
and printed in
Questions & Answers Paper No. 34
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Answer received on 13 September 2011
and printed in
Questions & Answers Paper No. 43
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