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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 270 asked in the Legislative Council on 19 March 2020 by Hon Diane Evers

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

WESTERN POWER — POLE REPLACEMENT

270. Hon DIANE EVERS to the minister representing the Minister for Energy:

I was contacted by a constituent concerned about the process for replacing power poles, particularly those on properties with livestock.

(1) Are any tests conducted on the soil surrounding power poles to determine whether any residue from the old pole is present; and —

(a) if not, why not; and

(b) if yes, what measures are taken to protect livestock from accessing contaminated soil?

(2) Are concrete barriers that were previously in place for this purpose re-used or replaced; and, if not, why not?

(3) What are the possible negative effects of this chemical coming into contact with or being ingested by livestock, and is any testing done on livestock for residual chemicals?

Hon STEPHEN DAWSON replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by the Minister for Energy.

(1) Western Power tested a series of locations across its network where treated poles were used for residual pesticide contamination in 1988. None were found to have residual contamination at levels likely to impact people or livestock. A more recent investigation in 2019 determined that although low levels of residue may be present, the substance does not disperse readily in soil or groundwater.

(a) Not applicable.

(b) No protection of livestock is considered necessary. At the levels of residual contamination measured, it is believed livestock would need to graze continually at the base of an affected pole for an extended period and ingest large quantities of soil.

(2) For those reasons, concrete cattle collars are not returned to the base of poles. Furthermore, retaining collars in locations where poles are permanently removed presents an ongoing safety risk, so they are routinely removed and disposed of.

(3) It is Western Power's understanding that agricultural products are routinely tested for pesticide contamination prior to sale, and particularly for international export. It is Western Power's understanding that findings of contamination of agricultural products are rare.