Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) incoming Chief Executive Officer Dr Cathy Wilkinson praised the work of the Emergency Services and support agencies as the clean-up of the factory fire in West Footscray continues.
EPA monitoring of water quality should begin to show signs of improvement over the next few days, but Dr Wilkinson said the public should still avoid contact with the Stony Creek water and not consume any fish taken from it.
“The Emergency Services effort in bringing the blaze under control, maintaining public safety and providing information has been incredible,” said Dr Wilkinson.
“EPA will continue to support the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), provide technical support to them and make sure the community is kept up to date with the results of our testing. This event underlines again why EPA is providing dedicated services to the western suburbs like air monitoring and rapid response EPA officers on standby in the area to attend reported pollution events.
“With such a high density of heavy industries in the west, EPA will look for more ways to increase the local community’s protection from environmental harms from risks and hazards.”
Dr Wilkinson said in coming days EPA will join with WorkSafe on a targeted blitz of inner western Melbourne industrial premises. The joint agency effort, which will also include MFB officers, will be targeting businesses and ensuring potentially dangerous chemicals are being stored correctly.
The inspections will be in the area around the factory fire, and work through the surrounding industrial areas in suburbs including West Footscray and Braybrook.
EPA’s focus will be around ensuring appropriate bunding is in place around chemicals, fuels and other hazardous liquids; and ensuring appropriate stormwater controls are in place as well as keeping an eye out for sites that are receiving and/or storing a combustible recyclable waste material.
Where inspectors identify workplaces that are not complying with regulations they will issue enforcement notices ordering the issue to be rectified.
“This is a joint effort. The regulatory authorities will work very closely together on this blitz which will not only check the sites around the fire area but send a very clear message to all industry that compliance is a safety matter that is taken extremely seriously,” said Dr Wilkinson.
“Where we find instances of non-compliance we will work with those businesses to bring them back into compliance but they could also face fines or even prosecution in the courts if they fail in their obligations.
“I have already begun contacting all the sites identified by the Victorian Government’s Resource Recovery Audit Taskforce reminding them of their obligations and will convene a meeting of the Taskforce members as soon as possible to discuss other priority sites including the C&D Recycling Pty Ltd site at Lara.
“Victoria’s Emergency Services are fantastic. We work well together as demonstrated at West Footscray and EPA will play an important role in reducing potential future emergency events by taking a more preventative approach in how it regulates for the environment.”
More information on chemical storage can be found at www.epa.vic.gov.au/business-and-industry/lower-your-impact/resource-efficiency/improving-storage
Victoria has a code of practice for the storage and handling of dangerous goods. For more information click here.
https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/resources/code-practice-storage-and-handling-dangerous-goods