EPA & WorkSafe to handle dangerous goods & waste chemicals at Campbellfield site

Another Campbellfield site has caught the interest of the Environmental Protection Authority of Victoria, following the widely-publicised fire in a nearby factory earlier this year.

WorkSafe Victoria will lead a taskforce to oversee the removal of waste chemicals, which was discovered to contain mostly industrial waste. The intervention comes after recent inspections revealed a significant amount of dangerous goods that were also present at the site.

The site remains under 24-hour security surveillance and risk management plans for fire and other hazards have been put in place.

Under Victoria’s Dangerous Goods Act, duty holders who breach regulations in relation to the storage and handling of dangerous goods are required to take action to ensure their sites comply with the law. WorkSafe can step in to directly ensure sites are made safe if it believes such action is necessary.

In January, a WorkSafe-led taskforce including EPA, fire services, Victoria Police and local councils stepped in to oversee the removal of waste chemical stockpiles discovered.

While the exact quantity of waste chemicals at the latest site is unknown, preliminary calculations indicate that there is potential to store up to 1.6 million litres at the site.