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| Health home > Environmental health home > In the community > Land | |||
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LandPage content: Contaminated land | Waste management | Landfills | Biosolids | Effluent disposal | Cleaning up after a bushfire Contaminated landContaminated land is often a legacy of our industrial past when the community’s awareness about the need to protect the environment was much lower than it is today. Managing Risks Associated with Land Contamination: Guidance for Councils When soil contains elevated levels of metals or other substances, it does not automatically mean a human health risk exists. However, there is heightened public awareness of the potential for soil contamination, especially in areas where children stay or play. To manage these situations consistently, effectively and transparently, councils should develop policies and procedures specific to their municipality to deal with potentially contaminated sites. Careful planning and early community engagement are essential. These guidelines provide the tools to assist your council in developing a policy and procedure for effectively managing contaminated sites.
DHS held a seminar/workshop on 4 December 2006, which was based on the guideline document 'Managing Risks Associated with Land Contamination: Guidance for Councils'. The following are copies of the speakers' presentations, including an introductory summary for the session.
Soil
Assessment in Children’s Services Health risk assessment The enHealth
Council has developed National Guidelines for assessing health impact
and health risk. Mine tailings & arsenic Many towns and cities in Victoria have been built in areas with a history
of gold mining. Mine tailings that contain arsenic are spread over large areas
of land, including land now used for housing. This booklet contains information
for people who live in such areas. It gives information on what you need to
know and actions you can take to protect your family's health. Waste managementThe following site contains information about waste management. Environment Protection Authority LandfillsLandfills play an important and significant role in waste management infrastructure in Victoria. The Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) is responsible for licensing and monitoring of landfills in Victoria (except municipal landfills for populations less than 500) under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act 1970. Landfills must adopt, where possible, current best-practice procedures to ensure that the surrounding environment and communities are protected. Lyndhurst Landfill and Dandenong South Industrial 2 Zone - September 2011 updateAs a result of community concerns surrounding the Lyndhurst Landfill and Dandenong South Industrial 2 Zone, the Department of Health undertook a health assessment into concerns that emissions from the landfill and the industrial zone have resulted in an increase in illness within the local community. The assessment included analysis of existing health information on residents in and around Dandenong South.Overall, the results of the health assessment provide no evidence that living in the area nearby the Lyndhurst landfill and the Dandenong South industrial zone has led to an increase in either cancer incidence or pregnancy and birth abnormalities. The full health assessment report and Executive summary are available for download below. Download documents:
Translated resources:
Tullamarine Landfill - June 2011 updateThe Tullamarine landfill (often referred to as the ‘Cleanaway landfill’) is located in a former stone quarry in Western Avenue, Tullamarine within the City of Hume. The landfill is next to Melbourne Airport with the residential suburbs of Attwood, Tullamarine, Gladstone Park and Westmeadows within a 3 km radius. The landfill operated from 1973 to 2008 and was used for liquid and solid industrial wastes until 1987. The site is currently being rehabilitated.In 2006, the Department of Human Services coordinated the following investigation with input from the Victorian Perinatal Data Collection Unit, Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity and the Cancer Council Victoria. As a result of community concerns, the EPA commissioned Cancer Council Victoria to undertake a further study using data from the Victorian Cancer Registry, the Australian Cancer Database and the National Death Index. For further information on Tullamarine landfill: Tullamarine Landfill – Community Health and Environment Report, 2011: Executive Summary: BiosolidsThe following site contains information about biosolids. Environment Protection Authority Effluent disposal - Septic tanks code of practiceThe following site contains information about septic tanks. Environment Protection Authority Cleaning up after a bushfireHouses, sheds and other buildings or structures that are burnt in a bushfire can leave potential health hazards in the remaining rubble, ash and debris. |
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Last updated:
20 September, 2011
This website is managed and authorised by Environmental Health Unit, Health Protection Branch, Wellbeing, Integrated Care and Ageing Division of the Department of Health, Victorian State Government, Australia |
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