What started as a story about the plight of people suddenly losing their jobs has turned into one of possible safety risk and environmental concern.
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The sight of an oil-like substance on the grounds of recently insolvent Rutherford business Truegain raises several questions.
While Fairfax Media has not been able to confirm that the substance seen leaching at the site this week, contained by a small bundwall, is oil, the smell and lack of evaporation suggests that’s the case.
The Kyle Street-based company announced earlier this month it had become insolvent, leaving its employees out of work with little notice.
The site has had a colourful past, under the watchful gaze of the Environmental Protection Authority and Hunter Water.
Hunter Water shut off the waste refinery’s sewer access less than a year ago because of concerns about notorious chemical PFOS allegedly being discharged into the sewer system.
The site has also been the subject of at least 10 penalty notices since 2012.
“Earlier this week, we oversaw the installation of bunds to ensure water was not leaving the site,” an EPA spokesperson told Fairfax Media this week.
“We are working with the owner to ensure the site is managed to prevent environmental impact. We are also reviewing our regulatory options to ensure the ongoing maintenance and security of the site.”
This issue has gone beyond simply being about the closure of a business and the loss of jobs. Given the abundance of the oil-like substance visible pooling on the ground at the site this week, there should rightly be concerns that the substance could either find its way into the gutter or a nearby waterway.
If the substance is, or contains, oil, that also presents a danger to the community because of the threat of pollution.
Ultimately, there are some key questions that need answers as soon as possible. Who is responsible for the clean-up or remediation at the site? Who is going to pay for it?
Now that the company is being wound up, there’s no guarantee that Truegain will be the answer to either of those questions.
If that responsibility falls to the EPA, it will mean taxpayer money could be used fund the exercise. But those questions need to be addressed and answered soon so any risks to humans, animal populations or the wider environment are eliminated.
