Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => News Views & Press Releases => Topic started by: Editor on March 12, 2015, 08:23:29 AM
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Chinchilla air and water safe
6 March 2015 - DEHP
Preliminary results from testing this week show air and water quality in the Chinchilla region remains at safe levels.
Water quality tests were undertaken in the Condamine River and the Chinchilla weir with air quality tests undertaken across the Hopeland and Chinchilla area.
The environment regulator, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection Director-General Jon Black, said preliminary results showed no immediate concerns with air and water quality in the region.
“In particular, drinking water remains safe,” Mr Black said.
Drinking water and air quality testing was done following the discovery of gases including carbon monoxide, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide in soil in the Hopeland area, south of Chinchilla.
Routine testing by EHP discovered the gases at depths of between two and six metres.
The gases are combustion by-products and are not associated with coal seam gas development.
“Queensland Health advised that all results in the data EHP provided were within the range of historical data for each water quality parameter, or within the expected range for surface water in Queensland,” Mr Black said.
“Queensland Health further advised there was nothing in the water quality data that would indicate a health risk from Chinchilla’s treated drinking water or that additional testing of the treated water was necessary.”
Meanwhile, air quality testing, done by the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, using portable equipment which gives immediate results, showed no air quality guideline exceedances.
“Monitoring equipment has been left on several sites in the region to give air quality readings over time periods of up to two weeks.
“While the results are preliminary at this stage, they indicate that the gases found underground at Hopeland pose no immediate threat to health.
“EHP expects to have formal confirmation of the air and other water quality test results next week,” Mr Black said.
EHP has been undertaking soil sampling in the Hopeland area this week following detection of the gases.
As the gases have been found below the root zone in the soil, immediate impacts to grazing animals and stock are also considered very unlikely.
“In the meantime, an excavation caution zone has been established in the area and anyone wanting to excavate to a depth of two metres or more in this zone is urged to contact EHP on 1300 130 372.
“This is a precautionary measure as we may need to do tests on the land in question to ensure it’s safe for landholders to excavate,” Mr Black said.
Further information on testing at Hopeland and Chinchilla, including maps of the excavation caution zone and maps showing where testing has occurred, is available at ehp.qld.gov.au.
Of course the DEHP would find that CSG operations aren't to blame for gas emissions, must be cattle farts that go underground eh? We can't have anything to impact Qld's Cash Cow.... But land holders still shouldn't excavate for fear of letting some of the gasses free. Ed.
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It would be a very brave public servant to table results that put the CSG operation in doubt. No surprise that. The CSG cover up is the main stay of both Labor and Liberal/National state governments.
For examples of public servants being mistreated by government after publishing adverse findings one only has to look at what happened to most of the people that were running the Great Barrier Reef Marine park Authority. Nearly all have been pressured to leave their positions after detailing the EIS of dredging and increased coal mine runoff.