Inner West council future hangs in the balance
Social enterprise brings affordable mental health care to Leichhardt
We’ve really thrown ourselves into the deep end
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YOUR FREE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER JAMIE PARKER, Member for Balmain
N OV E M B E R , 2 0 2 0
TOXIC TERMINAL BY RIDA BABAR AND ALLISON HORE mminent plans to undergo construction at the White Bay residential site, near Rozelle and Balmain, will have an immense impact on the community. Long-suffering residents in the area who have already dealt with WestConnex construction will have more noise pollution to contend with. But not only that, leaked government documents reveal contaminated sediment unearthed during the construction will find a “temporary home” at White Bay, putting residents at risk of exposure to harsh toxins. This aim of the project, touched on in the leaked documents, is to build huge 6.5-kilometre tunnels for the Western Harbour and Beaches Link between Rozelle and North Sydney. The NSW Government said the “much needed tunnels” provide a “missing link” in the city’s motorways and would be a “game changer” for Sydney, providing more direct bus routes between the Inner West, Sydney and North Sydney. Rather than a traditional tunnelling process like the one used to dig the tunnels for Sydney’s metro system, the construction process for the new harbour tunnels would involve a large trench being dug into the harbour and prefabricated concrete tubes being lowered into position from barges above.
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Proposed construction at White Bay threatens local livelihoods
livingtiles
133 VICTORIA RD, ROZELLE l 9818 0000
TOXIC SEDIMENT UNEARTHED
Much of the sludge dredged up in this process will be dumped at sea, the project’s environmental impact report suggests around 142,500 cubic centimeters of contaminated sediment from the top layer of seabed would have to be moved on shore for treatment before being put in landfill. Chemicals found on the harbour seabed, including furans, dioxins and PCBs are part of what the World Health Organisation calls the “dirty dozen”. Dioxins, the WHO says, are toxic to liver and kidney function and can cause cancer. Heavy metals including lead, mercury and cadmium are also present in the harbour sediment. The proposed area for the contaminated sediment to be handled and dumped in White Bay is less than 100 meters from residents’ homes, putting them at risk of exposure to odour and volatile emissions. Jamie Parker, Member for Balmain, has condemned this plan, saying it essentially creates a “massive toxic waste dump in the middle of a densely populated residential suburb”. He told Inner West Independent the government’s approach towards the scheme, in terms of community impact, was short-sighted. “The cumulative impact on residents is enormous with WestConnex surface works underway, Sydney Metro site establishment to begin soon, followed by work on the Western Harbour Tunnel,” he said. Continued on page 4
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