Pacific Highway Upgrade

Herons Creek to Stills Road Pacific Highway upgrade: incident investigation

Background

On 27 March 2012 a worker was sent to a doctor after reporting he had noticed fumes in his bobcat cab as he worked on the Herons Creek to Stills Road worksite.

On the same day a worker in the same vicinity complained of headaches.

About a week later three more workers complained of similar symptoms and were all sent to a doctor. This is when it was made clear the symptoms may be directly linked to the work site. As a precaution, RMS and BMD arranged an exclusion zone around the area where the workers were affected so further investigations could be carried out.

Incident Investigation Update

Work to remove contaminated material from the face of a cutting on the Herons Creek to Stills Road Pacific Highway upgrade is under way.

At the end of May work restarted on the upgrade after advice from independent experts and preliminary test results cleared the majority of the worksite and external sites which received soil from the worksite of harmful contaminants.

The only remaining exclusion zone on the site is around the face of the cutting where the contaminated material originated. This exclusion zone will remain in place until the material is removed in accordance with the approved Remedial Action Plan.

Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) has been working closely with a number of authorities, including EPA, to develop the Remedial Action Plan which will allows the source of the contamination to be removed from site and disposed of at a licensed landfill.

RMS is currently working with the EPA and its contractor to prepare appropriate Safe Work Method Statements and Environmental Work Method Statements to ensure the material is safely removed, with no impact on the surrounding environment.

Two of the external sites and the road side area near the Herons Creek School where material was sent to from the site have been cleared of harmful contaminants.

RMS and its contractor BMD Constructions are working with the owners and operators of another external site where contaminants have been identified in part of the spoil area to ensure an action plan is in place as soon as possible.

Interim advice from the independent chemical specialists have found the discoloured soil near the former burial pit area from a 1980 truck crash contain low levels of organopesticides including DDT and volatile fatty acids including acetic and propionic acid.

The levels of the organopesticides are extremely low and are not considered to pose a health risk. The findings were at a level below EPA endorsed soil criteria for residences, schools and kindergartens.

The volatile fatty acids found in the exclusion zones otherwise known as proprionic acid can be caused when residuals of sodium propionate (a chemical used in food additives) breaks down in the ground in a low-oxygen environment.

After the 1980 crash sodium propionate was buried at the worksite and although it was removed during the planning phase of the project the residual breakdown has caused fatty acids to evolve.

When exposed, the acid is most irritating when first uncovered and exposed to the air. It then dissipates with time and becomes essentially unnoticeable.

There are no long term health effects associated with exposure to these fatty acids.

Safety of the site, for workers and the general public will remain the NSW Government's top priority while this investigation is continuing.

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