Professor Dick Wettenhall, pictured on the Grantville foreshore, warns that new sand mining projects in Bass Coast risk polluting
Western Port’s precious wetlands. Photos: Geoff Ellis
By Dick Wettenhall
AMONGST the greatest causes of despair in my lifetime have been government decisions permitting pollution of the environment in ways that were predictable.
Too often, concerns about potential toxicities of chemical pollutants have been set aside to make way for “progress”, resulting in considerable harm to human health and the destruction of vast areas of remnant forests and wetlands, extinction of species and loss of biodiversity.
AMONGST the greatest causes of despair in my lifetime have been government decisions permitting pollution of the environment in ways that were predictable.
Too often, concerns about potential toxicities of chemical pollutants have been set aside to make way for “progress”, resulting in considerable harm to human health and the destruction of vast areas of remnant forests and wetlands, extinction of species and loss of biodiversity.
You would think we would have learned by now. But, in considering approvals for new industrial applications of chemistry with pollution potential, decision makers continue to prioritise employment, economic considerations and political opportunism over environmental risks.
Unfortunately, the latest example of this is close to home. The Victorian Government is considering approvals for new sand mining projects that risk toxic chemical pollution of precious remnant bushland and wetlands along the eastern shores of Western Port.
One proposal is to appreciably upgrade and expand an existing sand mining operation near Grantville. Sand is to be mined and washed on site. An integral part of the operation will be a huge 3500 megalitre dredge pond for sand extraction and depositing waste waters and sludge. Considerable quantities of chemical coagulants used in sand processing will be released into the pond, together with heavy metal compounds.
Unfortunately, the latest example of this is close to home. The Victorian Government is considering approvals for new sand mining projects that risk toxic chemical pollution of precious remnant bushland and wetlands along the eastern shores of Western Port.
One proposal is to appreciably upgrade and expand an existing sand mining operation near Grantville. Sand is to be mined and washed on site. An integral part of the operation will be a huge 3500 megalitre dredge pond for sand extraction and depositing waste waters and sludge. Considerable quantities of chemical coagulants used in sand processing will be released into the pond, together with heavy metal compounds.
| The Grantville sand mine plans to use several chemical pollutants with potential to inflict long-term damage to precious ecosystems within Western Port wetlands. At least three of the pollutants are highly toxic and potentially mutagenic, including the nitroso amine, N-NDMA, acrylamide, and the heavy metal antimony. (Antimony is a close cousin of arsenic, familiar to any reader of Agatha Christie's detective stories.) These will leach from the sand mine’s dredge pond into ground water, which flows into downstream creeks and tidal zone mudflats. |  The Grantville foreshore. Photo: Dick Wettenhall More than 1400 people have signed an e-petition to the Victorian Parliament calling for an immediate moratorium on sand mining in Bass Coast’s remnant forest. |
Of most concern is the potent mutagen and probable human carcinogen, N-NDMA. This will be formed by conversion of the relatively low toxicity coagulant, poly-DADMAC, during sand washing, as well as in the dredge pond. The potential mutagenicity of N-NDMA released into waterways is presumably why the commercial supplier’s Safety Data Sheet for poly-DADMAC includes the precautionary alert “avoid release into the environment” and classifies the polymer as a hazardous chemical “harmful to aquatic life, with long lasting effects”.
N-NDMA levels considered unsafe for humans have been detected in some drinking water storages using poly-DADMAC treatment plants. This has required implementation of rigorous safety procedures for suppressing N-NDMA formation.
International safety concerns about pollution of waterways by potentially harmful pollutants of the type to be released from the Grantville sand mine have led to the adoption of stringent guidelines: The WHO, US and EU guidelines warn that N-NDMA, acrylamide and antimony are highly toxic chemicals. Safe drinking water limits have been set in the low microgram per litre range for acrylamide and antimony, and in the low nanogram (WHO, EU) or sub nanogram (US) range for N-NDMA.
N-NDMA levels considered unsafe for humans have been detected in some drinking water storages using poly-DADMAC treatment plants. This has required implementation of rigorous safety procedures for suppressing N-NDMA formation.
International safety concerns about pollution of waterways by potentially harmful pollutants of the type to be released from the Grantville sand mine have led to the adoption of stringent guidelines: The WHO, US and EU guidelines warn that N-NDMA, acrylamide and antimony are highly toxic chemicals. Safe drinking water limits have been set in the low microgram per litre range for acrylamide and antimony, and in the low nanogram (WHO, EU) or sub nanogram (US) range for N-NDMA.
| Many environmental organisms seem likely to have similar sensitivities to these toxic chemicals. Therefore, similar limits should apply for their levels in aquatic environments. With the proposed Grantville sand mine, the levels of the toxic pollutants in the dredge pond and groundwater could appreciably exceed these limits, but provisions for the necessary ongoing testing of the pollutants have not been made. To ensure safeguarding the environment, access to the ultra-high sensitivity instrumentation required for accurate determination of extremely low levels of the pollutants will be essential. The prospect of continuous infusion of mutagenic pollutants into the delicately balanced ecosystems within the Weston Port mudflats is alarming. Mudflats are the foundation for life in wetlands, providing microbes, invertebrates and other foods that sustain the diverse range of resident fish, birds, and plants. The lack of consideration of the potential for adverse impacts of the pollutants is extraordinary, given the listing of the Western Port wetlands as of world significance by the international Ramsar Convention and formal recognition of their environmental significance by both the Australian and Victorian Governments. Wetlands only need to meet one of nine criteria for them to be listed under the Ramsar Convention. Western Bay wetlands meets at least seven of these criteria, including supporting vulnerable species, unique ecosystems, biodiversity, greater than 20,000 birds, and diverse populations of fish and other aquatic organisms. | Slow-motion killers Discounting potential chemical toxicities in response to industry pressure can have disastrous consequences. The classic case is tobacco. Despite mounting evidence of carcinogenicity, it took 150 years to overcome industry resistance, introduce strict regulations governing tobacco use, and force industry to acknowledge tobacco as the most destructive source of chemical carcinogens known to man. And then came synthetic chemical pesticides! I first became aware of their evils while living in Chicago in the early 1970s. The weekly news cycle was dominated by stories of devastating harm to health and the environment by a variety of agrichemical pollutants. The scariest of all were organomercury-based pesticides which enter the food chain and cause irreversible brain damage. The disasters caused by unregulated use of agrichemicals have exposed both the industry’s preparedness to spread disinformation in pursuit of profits and the unquestioning acceptance of industry’s marketing claims by government decision makers. Even where specific environmental chemical toxicities are proven, introducing legislation to restrict their use can take decades, particularly when powerful industry lobby groups are in play. This is particularly so for mutagenic chemicals because of the delayed onset of their effects, making it difficult to assess environmental impacts within the time frame allowed for processing applications for approving their use. And yet their actions have the potential to disrupt delicately balanced ecosystems by creating mutant fish and other species with competitive advantages, or with cancerous-like neoplasms, or other serious abnormalities. - Dick Wettenhall |
This frightening prospect underpins the concerns about Western Port pollution by effluents from sand mines that will wash sand on site. The Grantville operation is not the only one. There are vast deposits of potentially mineable sand ranging from Glen Forbes to Koo Wee Rup. Already, industry is wanting to expand sand mining operations in the area, many of which are likely to release potentially toxic chemicals of the type released at the Grantville site.
Sadly, it seems likely that the pathway for government approval of new sand mines, will favour job creation, revenue streams and profit over concerns about likely adverse environmental impacts on the precious Ramsar wetlands.
Approving these operations without addressing the risks would be the equivalent of Lord Nelson using his blind eye to look through his telescope to avoid seeing signals he had no intention of taking notice of. Must we accept such a flawed process, or should we draw a line in the sand and say no to pollution that will risk long term environmental damage?
Dick Wettenhall is a former Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Melbourne University, and inaugural Director of the University’s Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute. He lives in Bass Coast.
Sadly, it seems likely that the pathway for government approval of new sand mines, will favour job creation, revenue streams and profit over concerns about likely adverse environmental impacts on the precious Ramsar wetlands.
Approving these operations without addressing the risks would be the equivalent of Lord Nelson using his blind eye to look through his telescope to avoid seeing signals he had no intention of taking notice of. Must we accept such a flawed process, or should we draw a line in the sand and say no to pollution that will risk long term environmental damage?
Dick Wettenhall is a former Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Melbourne University, and inaugural Director of the University’s Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute. He lives in Bass Coast.
Dick Wettenhall pictured at Grantville with Tim O'Brien and Catherine Watson of the Save Western Port Woodlands group, which is seeking a stay on new mining projects in the Western Port woodlands.