EPA struggling to dispose of more than one-million litres of illegal toxic waste

A number of sites used to illegally house stockpiles of toxic chemical waste in Melbourne’s north are under 24-hour guard as the EPA undertakes the painstaking and delicate job of removing more than one million litres of hazardous material.

Inspectors from the EPA and CFA are struggling to gain access to sites on Devon Court and Yale Drive because of the strong presence of strong, potentially toxic vapours.

Concerns remain that a chemical fire at these sites could prove far more destructive than the West Footscray blaze that clouded Melbourne’s western suburbs in toxic smoke last year.

The EPA is approaching local businesses which neighbour four sites in Epping and three in Campbellfield identified as operating illegal storage of more than 1.2 million litres of chemical waste.

The illegal chemical storage sites were discovered during a joint agency investigation on December 28, with the EPA estimating it could take several weeks to identify and quantify given the number and size of containers housing hazardous materials.

Security staff continue to maintain a 24-hour presence at the sites and the EPA has deployed and is operating mobile air quality monitoring devices to detect any potential danger.

The waste was discovered during targeted inspections of industrial sites by EPA, fire agencies, Victoria Police and WorkSafe.