Lead Concerns in Tasmania's Rocherlea
Rochelle Hughes was shocked to learn that her children's Little Athletics meet was cancelled due to lead exposure concerns at the nearby Recycal metal recycling facility. The Tasmanian EPA had partially shut down Recycal after finding elevated lead levels in dust generated by a metal shredder, posing a potential public health risk to the surrounding suburb of Rocherlea.
Ms Hughes criticized the lack of communication from authorities, while Recycal's CEO, Douglas Rowe, felt the government's response was excessive. The EPA and the Tasmanian Health Department are jointly investigating the situation.
The EPA has been regulating the Recycal site since 2019 due to concerns about excessive scrap metal stockpiling, which posed environmental risks. The authority has taken multiple actions to ensure Recycal's compliance.
The ABC was granted exclusive access to the Recycal yard and observed the "shredder floc" stockpiles responsible for the lead dust. Testing confirmed the presence of metals, including lead, in the dust.
The EPA issued an Environment Protection Notice on Recycal in February, requiring it to stop producing and processing shredder floc. Mr Ford confirmed that the shredder was the source of the dust.
The shutdown of the shredder, a $29 million investment, has affected employees' jobs. Todd Van Tienen, who has worked on the shredder for seven years, expressed his worry about losing his job.
Recycal has not complied with the condition to remove or cover all shredder floc on the site, citing safety concerns. Mr Rowe argued that mainland Australia allows floc disposal in level 2 landfills, but Tasmania does not.
Mr Ford emphasized that Recycal must operate lawfully in Tasmania. The shredder floc needs to be taken to the Copping C Cell, which accepts hazardous waste.
"This is a highly contested space. There are a number of legal actions afoot at this point in time, and fundamentally if Recycal is going to operate in Tasmania, it has to operate lawfully.