Pollution incident in Esperance

Written by Michelle Crisper, Member of the Esperance Development Planning Authority 26 June 2008;

As reported between December 2006 and 2007 In March, thousands of local birds were found dead in the tourist town of Esperance on the coast of Western Australia. Lead shipped through the town's port has been found to be the cause of the deaths. A proposal for a parliamentary inquiry into the incident was agitated. And their report was presented in September 2007. For those who don't have the time or inclination to read the parliamentary inquiry report, here's a quick summary and some of my thoughts.

Report summary: Between December 2006 and March 2007, the deaths of 9,500 local birds were caused by Magellan Metals' concentrated lead carbonate, which was transported through Esperance. The Port Authority handled it between April 2005 and March 2007. One in four children under the age of five tested showed blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter. That's not as high as other lead-contaminated communities, but it certainly shows the impact of lead contamination.

The Commission believes that members of the Esperance community were exposed to Magellan's lead as a result of:

Ongoing shipping and loading practices at Esperance Harbor occurred almost every two days and lasted for 23 months.

Leakage of lead dust occurred 22 times at the Port of Esperance during the usual unloading process.

Some of the major dust incidents occurred during the loading of Magellan's lead concentrate at Port Esperan. It releases significant lead contamination into the environment, and lacks any containment or cleanup. Causes continued exposure to lead.

The report found the Esperance community has become frustrated with the actions of the Esperance Port Authority including the Port Authority Council, Magellan Metals and the WA Department of Environment. The Department for the Environment has been instigating legal action against the Esperance Port Authority over various incidents related to pollution of the town of Esperance.

The inquiry has recommended additional resources to the Department of the Environment to enable them to better carry out their responsibilities, and to update and upgrade the management, infrastructure and oversight of the Port of Esperance

Ministry of Health's participation in the approval process as mandatory was enthusiastically accepted. Had the WA Department of Health's recommendations from September 2005 been implemented, the Esperance community might have avoided a lot of heartache.

One of the findings stated that "factors such as family background and educational opportunities are potentially more important for children's cognitive abilities than lead exposure." It is hoped that rather than a 'wait and watch' approach to children's development, the government will provide additional resources for smaller classes in early primary schools in local schools, or extra teacher's aides in classrooms."

Happy Note that many of the recommendations will have implications, not only for Esperance, but for other port communities in Western Australia. In November 2007, Bunbury was the fourth port community in addition to Esperance. WA ports are subject to an assessment by the Department of the Environment, with particular focus on off-site radioactivity and the port's ability to handle and store the material

Not in the sense of reference to nickel contamination in the town of Esperance. The extent was highlighted in the report. Nickel has also been identified as a contaminant through extensive lead testing in the town. Rain barrel, dust brush results and ceiling space dust all show elevated levels of nickel - an unsurprising fact. It's the xanthate odor from nickel that many locals have identified as a problem for many years.

The Esperance Development Planning Authority is pushing for a town guaranteed to have zero nickel dust emissions. Once the material is processed, the process of change is slow and effective processing and community safety are implemented before any product is processed, which is extremely important for ports handling new commodities.

Lead and nickel dust will remain in Esperance communities for some time and residents will need to remain vigilant as they work to clean their homes until we have firm data showing elevated heavy metal concentrations are no longer present. We couldn't get the town clean so far because those poor birds died between December 2006 and March 2007. Scared to imagine where we would be now. Hopefully, something will be learned from this and Esperance will be a better place to live because of it

Thanks. The effects of long-term heavy metal exposure on native birds in Esperance are being studied by Dr Nick Denlop of the Conservation Council of Western Australia, who will release the first round of his findings this week.

In June 2008, 9,000 tonnes of Magellan Metal's lead carbonate remained in Esperance Port Authority sheds and Magellan Metal has still not resumed exporting their product from the sea. Perrance's lead is proposed to be packed into burka bags and loaded onto ships, with the entire process monitored 24/7 by independent inspectors to ensure there is no further contamination of the town.

Magellan Metals has Applying to export their product from the Veruna mine through the port of Fremantle, packed in burka bags and placed in double-sealed containers, Fremantle Council objected to the transport of lead carbonate through residential areas. Requires shipping in cast box.

Magellan Metals assured the Esperance community back in 2004 that they would build a smelter at the Veruna mine and export the majority of their production in the form of cast boxes. This promise never materialized.