Ratepayers cop bill for asbestos clean-up
Jog on: A wildlife officer directs passing beachgoers away from Arcto the bull seal on Chelsea beach. Picture: Gary Sissons
Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au
Seal roams free on beach trips AN adult bull seal that has become a regular attraction at Dromana is now also visiting Chelsea beach. Arcto has become a regular attraction for beachgoers, but the rules are: look but don’t touch. The adult bull seal first landed on the beach in Dromana two summers ago and this year took up residence for four days early in January. Last Friday (27 January) he decided to make the trip to Chelsea. On warm days beachgoers vying for their own bit of sand make it a bit hard to avoid the Australian fur seal, although Arcto seems happy enough to share. “This is Arcto’s third straight summer at Dromana and we want to make sure people stay at least 30 metres from him if he does come back,” Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) authorised officer Abby Smith said. Protected under the Wildlife Act, onlookers must stay at
least 30 metres (dogs 50m) from Arcto and not touch or feed him. Ms Smith said she had “checked” the seal when he first appeared this year and found him to be in “fair to average health”. “He is a wild animal in his natural environment and we do not wish to unnecessarily interact with him,” she said. “While we understand some people might be curious or excited to see Arcto, the best chance of him staying in a non-stressed state is if people keep their distance. “We ask also those who might have dogs in the area to take a common sense approach by using a leash and remaining vigilant if Arcto is nearby. Ms Smith said the seal could have “all the time it needs” on the beach before getting “back into the swim of things”. For more information on the regulations, see delwp.vic. gov.au or call 136 186. Sick, injured or distressed marine wildlife can be reported on 0447 158 676.
KINGSTON ratepayers will foot the full bill to move soil containing fragments of asbestos from Chelsea’s Bicentennial Park to a tip. Kingston Council was forced to remove a dirt pile from the park after it emerged that soil taken from a Glenola Rd site in Chelsea earmarked for a new kindergarten contained traces of the potentially harmful material. The Glenola Rd site is leased by council from the state government and council CEO John Nevins said he would ask the Department of Education to pay for the $90,000 outlaid to remove the soil from Bicentennial Park. Department of Education spokesman Steve Tolley told The News the state government is pitching in $2 million towards the construction a new kindergarten at Glenola Rd and “there is no scope for this contribution to be increased”. “The soil in Bicentennial Park was not moved there by the department,” Mr Tolley said. “Health and safety in the park is an issue for Kingston Council.” He said the department would ensure the site is safe before a kindergarten is built at Glenola Rd near Chelsea Primary School. “Once the City of Kingston detected asbestos in the soil of this site, the Victorian School Building Authority ran precautionary air quality tests at Chelsea Primary School.
Dirt piles: Soil at Bicentennial Park before it was moved on again.
“No airborne asbestos fibres were detected.” Mr Nevins has said he has appointed “an independent expert” to investigate how asbestos-contaminated soil was transported to Bicentennial Park in October last year. The soil was moved and dumped at an Environment Protection Authority approved tip in December. Mr Nevins says independent expert advice stated any risk to the public from the asbestos fragments was “very minimal”. “It is believed the source of the contaminants was most likely historical use of lead-based paint at the site, building material from a former house demolished at the site or from fill material brought to the site sometime in the past,” the CEO said in a statement. “Results indicated that isolated areas of the site contained small amounts of asbestos and heavy metals — lead and zinc — in the surface fill material.” Council estimates the full cost of the clean-up of both the Glenola Rd and Bicentennial Park sites will be $813,500.
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Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
1 February 2017
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