Testing

If your property has been identified for testing, you will receive a letter from Port Kembla Copper (PKC) requesting access and describing the proposed testing methods. Contact details to arrange testing are included in the letter and here: Contact. There are two testing programs being conducted: one in areas of Port Kembla potential contamination of soil and roof dust from past smelting activities is suspected; and a second in areas where only roof dust contamination from the smelter may exist. If your property has been selected for testing but we don’t hear from you, then we will conduct a home visit to make contact, discuss the proposed testing with you, and confirm whether you would like your property tested. The home visit will be conducted by our environmental consultant, Senversa, who will be conducting the testing program. The testing of private properties will only occur with the written consent of the owner, and in the case of rented properties, the tenants also need to provide consent. If you agree to having testing conducted at your property, you will be provided with the results and notified whether the remediation of your property for smelter-related contamination is required. The results will also be provided to an independent expert reviewer, the NSW EPA and Wollongong City Council for review and comment.

If you do not wish to have your property tested, you are under no obligation to do so.

The investigation areas (one for soil and roof dust, and one for roof dust only) were established based on the outcomes of detailed research and literature reviews, and testing of more than 1,100 soil and dust samples collected from public open space and select private properties in Port Kembla. This work was commissioned by Port Kembla Copper and completed by environmental consulting firm (Senversa). If your property is outside of the investigation areas, there is currently no evidence to suggest it contains concentrations of metals resulting from the historical operation of the Port Kembla copper smelter which require further assessment. This finding was reviewed and accepted by an independent expert Site Auditor, NSW EPA, NSW Health, Wollongong City Council.

Testing will be completed by an environmental consulting firm called Senversa. When the Senversa representative arrives at your property on the day of your appointment, they will ask some questions about the history and use of the property to identify the best options for testing. There are two types of testing that might be conducted: soil and/or dust. The need for testing of one (or both) of these material types at your property will be based on the outcomes of the prior investigation (see the About page). Soil testing – outdoors The Senversa representative and a service location contractor will conduct a short examination to confirm the locations of utilities (e.g. water, sewer electricity, telecommunications) under each property. They will then hand drill a number of small holes into the lawn and/or garden beds to about 0.5 m and collect soil samples. The sampling locations will have only very small holes (about 10 cm wide). They will then backfill the small holes and leave the area as it was before the sample was taken. Dust testing – indoors A ladder will be used to access the roof cavity and obtain dust samples from this space, which will be collected in a jar. Indoor areas (such as floors and windowsills) will be wiped with a cloth to take dust samples. Indoor dust wipe samples are collected to assess whether roof dust and/or soil may be impacting on the indoor parts of your property. If there is no evidence of smelter-related contamination in soil or roof dust, the indoor dust wipe samples will not be tested. The sampling will take between approximately 4 to 8 hours where soil and dust samples will be collected. If only dust sampling is required, it will take less time. When the sampling at your property is completed, samples will be sent to an accredited laboratory for analysis. The laboratory results will then be used to assess the concentrations of metals that are present in soil and/or dust at your property and if they are likely to be related to historical smelter emissions. After results are received, you will be provided with a copy of the testing report for your property. This letter will identity whether smelter-related contamination is present at your property and if remediation is required. The testing report will be reviewed by the independent expert Site Auditor. A copy of the report will be provided to NSW EPA and Wollongong City Council.

Detailed reviews of previous research and relevant investigation records, and collection and analysis of more than 1,100 soil and dust samples by Port Kembla Copper’s environmental consultant (Senversa) has been used to identify areas of Port Kembla which could have been contaminated by historical smelter operations. Based on this work, approximately 60 properties are suspected to have smelter-related soil and roof dust contamination. A further approximately 240 properties are suspected to have smelter-related roof dust contamination only. The investigations commissioned by Port Kembla Copper will seek to confirm the actual number of properties in Port Kembla which have been contaminated by historical smelter operations and to plan subsequent remediation, where required. Investigation and remediation of smelter-related contamination will be provided free of charge by Port Kembla Copper.