Anyone watch 60 Minutes last night? Scary stuff!

Don't think I'm gonna go sailing at Foreshore Road anymore. Doesn't look worth getting wet around there unless you want to look like this -->

Kurnell for the Westerlies from now on.

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Originally posted by ka43

Harrow, what did they have to say??

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Basically, heaps of some of the most dangerous chemicals in the world have been dumped into the soil at the ICI/Orica chemical plant at Botany over the last few decades. Soil tests have revealed that the underground chemical 'plume' has contanimated the groundwater supply and is moving toward the bay at the rate of 100m per year.

Given the plant is just over 1km from the shore, and as that part of the bay has very limited tidal flow, I'm not in any great hurry to go sailing there again.

you don't happen to work for Orica by any chance Jaybee do you ?

The interview with the company executive on the programme concerned
showed a company which had changed names ( was ICI) in an attempt to disassociate itself from ite poor environmental history.

The programme demonstrated how the same thing had happened in England with the same company .

There is a difference about taking responsibility and being forced to take responsibility.

In WA we only have to worry about us being turned into a radioactive waste dump amongst other things

This is to serious for a Monday...........back to the comics

I wouldnt worry about it too much Harrow, now that Orica/ICI have addressed the issue they and the EPA will be doing the upmost to stop further contamination... once it reaches the bay things become a whole lot worse.

Unfortunately it is difficult for any large scale chemical production plant to contain things- I used to be a chemist at Binary Industries (thankfully left long before the fire) and look at the drama's they are going through now, yet we did what I consider to be best under foreseeable circumstances including fire. Possibly the next point was enclosing the site in high non porous concrete bunds but no one ever conceived a fire of that magnitude, I was shocked when I saw the site but I guess in the end it is not surprising given the stock of volatiles kept on site. Air borne polution was imo unavoidable.

There are plenty of Chemical plants in WA so you are not immune- including another Binary Industries plant

What actually are ICI/Orica producing at that site?

J yeah we will have to catch up. I actually did the fire planning for that site post ester plant and I think no body expected a fire of that magnitude- from memory approx inventories were supplied to fire authority and both they and the epa signed off on the site. Provided the valves were shut off the site could hold quite a bit but I dont think there was any way you could avoid run off with the amount of water used.

I will take your word on the combustion thing, yes less water would have limited environmental impact. I guess the fire brigade approaches these situations with the view that if they can cool surrounding drums enough it wont add to the fire, maybe they should be doing the opposite and putting holes in as many drums as they can early on so they dont become fire balls later.

I think if public wins the compensation claims the council and government should be largely accountable for failing to establish a safe buffer zone around the estate. I absolutely loathed the council/citizen whinge fests, often I felt like saying mind your own damn business, the estate is here now- if you dont like it move and personally that is what I would be doing (as much as I hate displacing people in the name of progress).

Harrow you never hear it but sometimes there are actually concerned people that work in these places, i'm pro environment and was more than happy to become the environmental officer in a company that produces things to destroy the environment. Peter Garrett's brother worked for Ampol/Caltex, whom naturally destroy the environment. Besides if you think your affected at all you can always get what the staff in these places get- 3 blood samples a month, double that every 3rd month and a urine sample... fun fun fun

If you keep watching these gutter journalism shows like 60 minutes and getting worried about what you hear ,youre going to have a fairly difficult time doing anything at all. According to these trustworthy journalists everything is going to kill you and everybody you know is trying to rip you off. I can't believe for a second that any of these guys would exagerate a story or even make one up just to improve ratings.

whatever you do, don't eat the chocolate bars

geez, you blokes paint a very bleak picture. Ive never sailed there but guys have said it rocks in a westerly.
Now apart from a dirty beach, yukky water and leaking chemicals i get told there is a major rock spider

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Originally posted by ka43

geez, you blokes paint a very bleak picture. Ive never sailed there but guys have said it rocks in a westerly.
Now apart from a dirty beach, yukky water and leaking chemicals i get told there is a major rock spider and gay problem there as well.
Kinda hard to rig up if you have to carry a lump of 4 by 2 to keep the shirt lifters at bay. Bugger!!
Oops, I shouldnt use that word

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Grant, you also missed out on the wonderful rigging up location - a loose gravel median strip with a continuous stream of semi-trailers passing on either side at freeway speeds.

P.S. Have you got a brother 'Paul' who used to sail at Cronulla?