Waste dump fire fears
Waste dump fire fears
First on 7: Police have swooped on trucks leaving a smouldering waste dump fire in Western Sydney over fears for the safety of residents and drivers.
Following a 7News report last night, authorities were swarming over the Chester Hill demolition dump site today and trying to work out if locals are in danger.
Police were called to investigate fears of toxic fumes as a convoy of 20 trucks headed for another waste management centre at Kemps Creek.
After weeks of complaints about sickening, choking smoke, the Environment Protection authority was in damage control.
Steve Beaman, of the Environment Protection Authority, said: “What you probably saw this morning was white steam coming off the back of the trucks."
The fear of deadly toxins, though, was only heightened as fire fighters used asbestos proof suits to assess the mountain of smoking rubble, which has forced families to shut themselves inside their homes.
Mick Wren, of Fire and rescue NSW, said: “It is not bursting into flame as you would see a normal fire but producing large quanitites of smoke which is creating what you see behind me."
Roads and Maritime Service Inspectors then arrived to back-up police and highway patrol officers also quizzed EPA officials on how trucks with smouldering loads were allowed to leave the depot.
The explanation was that water used to cool down the waste as it was loaded created a vapour.
Mr Beaman added: “It's just that the material in the trucks is still warm to touch and it's just clearly steam as it's cooling off."
However, Mr Beaman admitted that no testing had been done on the vapour as it trailed through 22 kilometres of western Sydney roads before it arrived at the Kemps Creek facility.
He said: "I've got footage to show that the material landing in the landfill is not steaming and is suitable for landfill."
But the police and RMS wanted to know if motorists were exposed to steaming piles of toxic rubble, while Fire and Rescue confirmed air safety checks were confined to the site.
Mr Wren added: "We do have a Hazmat Unit here spasmodically monitoring the smoke to make sure it's safe again for the workers and for Fire and Rescue staff."
