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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 1304 asked in the Legislative Council on 17 June 2014 by Hon Lynn Maclaren

Question Directed to the: Minister for Mental Health representing the Minister for Planning
Question Directed to: Hon J.H.D. Day
Parliament: 39 Session: 1


Question

(1) Will the Minister please table the Groundwater Report that concerns the tailing ponds for the BHP Billiton Nickel West Refinery?
(2) Has an analysis of arsenic in groundwater been conducted at:
(a) Baldivis; and
(b) the refinery?
(3) For each in (2), if no, why not?
(4) Can the Minister confirm that the refinery was pumping out processed liquor solution?
(5) How long did it take for the refinery to notice the 2008 leak?
(6) Why was the leak not noticed immediately?

(1) Will the Minister please table the Groundwater Report that concerns the tailing ponds for the BHP Billiton Nickel West Refinery?
(2) Has an analysis of arsenic in groundwater been conducted at:
(a) Baldivis; and
(b) the refinery?
(3) For each in (2), if no, why not?
(4) Can the Minister confirm that the refinery was pumping out processed liquor solution?
(5) How long did it take for the refinery to notice the 2008 leak?
(6) Why was the leak not noticed immediately?

Answered on 12 August 2014

(1) The Groundwater Report concerning the tailing ponds for the Nickel West Refinery is not required to be made publicly available under Ministerial Statement 377. Access to the Groundwater Report may be requested through a Freedom of Information application to the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority.

(2)(a)-(b) Yes

(3) Not applicable

(4) The pipe which leaked can transport a water of different types of effluent, including main cooling tower blowdown water, demineralisation plant discharge, out-of-specification amsul cooling water tower solution (ammonia sulfate solution) and stormwater from the refinery to the Baldivis Compound. Samples collected from the leaked material indicated the liquid effluent was predominately amsul.

(5) BHP Billiton Nickel West reported that it visually verified the leak approximately 24 hours after it believed the leak had commenced.

(6) Findings from a then Department of Environment and Conservation investigation indicated that at the time of the refinery shut down, the Baldivis Leak Detection System alarm notification was exposed to a higher than normal number of triggered alarms in general, some of which were false alarms. No action was taken in response to the activation of the Baldivis Leak Detection System alarm as the technician believed it to be a false alarm.