Leake, who suggested on the remediation of the Sydney Olympic web site within the early Nineties and at Barangaroo, stated the danger of contamination at Rosehill was decrease than the adjoining industrial web site Camellia, primarily as a result of it had been working as a racecourse since 1885.
However there remained a threat of asbestos mud blowing throughout from the close by James Hardie factories throughout the 26-years of operation and the potential for the underlying water desk to be contaminated with chromium-6, a toxin generated by means of industrial processes and a identified human carcinogen, Leake stated.
“I might suggest that the EPA would assessment the present controls and would have to have the ability to persuade anybody shopping for land for residential functions that the place is secure to dwell, and there are not any ongoing, particularly airborne contaminants, that they need to be involved about,” he stated.
The earlier Coalition authorities’s imaginative and prescient for Camellia-Rosehill, a transfer that was finally ditched in favour of redeveloping Rosehill racecourse.Credit score: NSW authorities
In response to inquiries to Planning Minister Paul Scully, a authorities spokeswoman stated: “We’re not going to touch upon what’s hypothetical. We’ll progress any improvement utility within the regular manner.”
By way of a spokesman, the Australian Turf Membership stated a number of web site investigations had been undertaken at Rosehill Racecourse during the last 5 years, which had discovered very low ranges of contamination in small pockets of the positioning.
A 2015 contamination examine from Golder Associates marked the Rosehill Racecourse as having a “medium” threat of potential contamination, however a more moderen 2021 report by the identical consultants thought of the danger to be “low”.
Premier Chris Minns and ATC chairman Peter McGauran on the announcement of the memorandum of understanding on December 7.Credit score: Dion Georgopoulos
The price of endeavor any needed remediation of elements of the Camellia precinct was troublesome to estimate, Leake stated, however he stated the quantum was more likely to have been an enormous consideration for the Minns authorities in deciding to go along with the Rosehill web site.
“My guess could be that it’s not prohibitive for placing housing on Rosehill Racecourse, however it in all probability could be for doing it on the extremely contaminated industrial web site (Camellia). That’s why they’ve modified their thoughts,” he stated.
Loading
Leake acknowledged remediation work was already underway — together with for tram upkeep websites – and monitoring of potential leaching from Camellia had been ongoing for a substantial time period.
The Coalition’s buy of a six-hectare web site in Camellia for $53.5 million — greater than 3 times the $15.5 million the Valuer-Normal’s valuation — in 2015, has finally price the taxpayer $116 million to scrub up the closely contaminated web site.
Remediation work subsequent door to the Tram Depot web site, 6 Grand Avenue, included a barrier wall as much as 20 metres deep across the one-kilometre perimeter of the positioning to cease poisonous chemical compounds leaching.
Begin the day with a abstract of the day’s most essential and fascinating tales, evaluation and insights. Join our Morning Version publication.