MAY 1, 2019 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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Altona lens itself to art
Amateur photographer and Mobil employee Guy Keating. (Damjan Janevski)
Shutterbugs are being invited to enter the Postcards of Altona photographic competition. Amateur and professional photographers can submit images that showcase Altona’s natural beauty, heritage and culture or which recognise the 70th anniversary of the Mobil Altona refinery. Selected entries will be exhibited at Altona’s Joel Gallery from June 22 to July 4, with prize-winning images produced as a set of postcards. Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre manager Kim Reilly said she was excited about seeing the entries. “We’re hoping that people are going to have a little bit of a new angle,” she said. Refinery manager Andrew Williamson said Mobil was proud of the significant contribution made by industry in Melbourne’s west. “The refinery offers a unique vista for photographers and we can’t wait to see how entrants will showcase Altona refinery,” he said. Entries close on Friday, May 17 at 5pm. Details: ljac.com.au/postcards-of-altona Goya Dmytryshchak
Asbestos find outrage By Benjamin Millar Users of a popular West Footscray dog park are calling for its immediate closure after asbestos was twice discovered at the site. But Maribyrnong council maintains a series of tests have given the site the all-clear and the park is “of no concern to public safety”. Samples of material found at the Martin Reserve off-lead dog park sent by a park user for testing earlier this month returned a positive A pile of fill at Martin Reserve returned a positive result for friable asbestos. result when tested for friable asbestos. (Supplied) Council’s infrastructure services director Steve Hamilton said the council was alerted mounds, following the description that had to the asbestos find in a pile of fill at Martin been given, and could not find asbestos at the Reserve on April 8, three days after it was time.” delivered to the site. The council deemed there to be no risk to “An officer immediately surveyed the public safety and the fill was spread.
Two samples of soil taken for analysis later returned negative results. However park users have raised concerns that spreading the fill across the site could have disturbed asbestos, which poses a health risk if fibres become airborne and inhaled. Nikki, the user who found the first asbestos and sent it for testing, said the council has failed in its duties since being told of the find. “They should have barricaded the area and not disturbed it any further until I obtained results of the testing,” she said. “They should have then engaged a consultant hygienist to do an investigation of the soil to determine the extent of the contamination.” Nikki said the council should have an asbestos management plan outlining such a procedure.
“Only once the consultant verifies there is no asbestos present in the soil could they have got the contractor to spread it.” The council last Wednesday sent an asbestos removal contractor to inspect the site. Mr Hamilton said the contractor found another piece of asbestos, removing it from the fill. An occupational hygienist then took underground samples for testing and carried out air monitoring. “While they did find a small piece of asbestos within the fill, they have declared the area to be of no concern to public safety,” he said. Mr Hamilton said the fill had been sourced from another council facility, which is being checked by the council’s contractors to ensure that there is no risk to public safety at that site.