Clean-up of former arsenic plant site

A $3.4 million clean-up of the former arsenic processing plant near Tenterfield is scheduled to get underway from late March following an easing of wet weather and ground conditions.

Crown Lands Executive Director of Land and Asset Management Greg Sullivan said remediation work at the former Jennings Arsenic Processing Plant is currently due to start on 27 March after an assessment found the site had sufficiently dried out.

“The rescheduling of work by Crown Lands follows an easing of ongoing La Nina weather conditions which had left the site saturated with water,” Mr Sullivan said.

“This $3.4 million investment will ensure contaminated soil is excavated and sealed in a containment cell on site and the land revegetated with native grasses.

“The ultimate aim will be to ensure the site is safe for residents and visitors as open space as part of the natural environment of the town.”

The Jennings Arsenic Processing Plant produced arsenic trioxide powder to control Prickly Pear from 1923 to 1928, leaving contamination residue when the site closed.

Previous work was undertaken to rehabilitate the site in the 1950s when soil and drums were buried, and in 2009 topsoil was laid and a basin built to collect runoff.

Crown Lands is working with Environmental Resources Management Australia, the Environment Protection Authority and Tenterfield Shire Council and developed a remediation plan for a further clean-up to meet requirements of the NSW Contaminated Land Management Act 1997.

The project is expected to take between 10 to 12 weeks for the Soil Conservation Service to excavate contaminated soil, contain it on site in a containment cell, and implement on-site measures to protect against potential erosion and sediment runoff.

Groundwater, surface water and sediments at the site will continue to be monitored. Further information on the project is on the Environmental projects.