The owner of a site deemed by the Environmental Protection Authority to need remediation is confused at why it has taken so long to clean up.
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The New South Wales Environmental Trust has awarded Cowra Shire Council half a million dollars worth of funding to remediate the former Cowra Gasworks site at 30 Brougham Street.
Owner of Cowra Smash Repairs Gus Camps said he has concerns about the health of staff members.
“If it’s that contaminated, why has it taken so long to do some remediation on it?” he said.
Mr Camps said he is concerned about the potential danger of the substances found at the site.
“We’ve been left in the dark about what side effects it can have,” he said. “My old man is sick; he’s got bladder cancer and a tumour of the brain.”
Cowra Shire Council Mayor Cr Bill West said residents should not be alarmed.
“The report indicates there is no immediate threat to health,” Cr West said. “But we do have a legal and moral obligation to ensure that the site is completely remediated.”
Mr Camps’ father originally purchased the site in 1975 from Cowra Shire Council’s predecessor and established the smash repair business.
Last year, representatives from the NSW Environmental Protection Authority approached Cowra Shire Council to determine the extent of the contamination from the site’s former use.
According to Cowra Council’s report, “the preliminary results from the investigations indicate that whilst there is no immediate threat to human health, the level of some contaminants is such that remediation is required”.
The EPA has since proposed to declare the site significantly contaminated. Funding for the remediation project has been sourced by Council from the NSW Environmental Trust and is to be completed by December 2013.