Attention! large quantities of toxic chemicals found north of Melbourne!
As of today, eight warehouses full of flammable chemicals have been discovered, with a total volume of more than 1.2 million liters!
Suspected to be related to last year`s West Footscray fire, but also involved in the mysterious illegal underground industry.
A large number of illegally stored toxic chemicals were found in Melbourne`s North District. According to Australian media reports, in a joint search of factories on December 28, last year,
A joint search team of the state environmental protection agency (EPA), the state fire department, the state police department, and the state security agency found seven warehouses illegally storing toxic chemicals.
This week, another 8th warehouse was found!
The illegal storage of toxic chemicals in the warehouse, the total amount of more than 1.2 million liters!
The eight warehouses are concentrated in Melbourne`s North District, 4 in Epping and 4 in Campbellfield.
(the figure above does not label the newly discovered 8th warehouse)
Among them, Epping is also the hot gate area for Chinese buyers in Melbourne!
According to staff, they were stunned when they opened the doors of the factory: countless chemical waste barrels containing liquids, stacked from the ground to the roof, stuffed every inch of the warehouse. It`s full of dangerous chemicals!
And a total of 1.2 million liters!
It takes weeks for staff to determine which chemicals are stored in these warehouses, and how much each item is.
Two of the warehouses, the EPA staff, dared not jump in because they feared that large quantities of chemicals would build up toxic vapors that were harmful to the human body in the sealed space of the warehouse.
There has been a partial container leak in one warehouse, and staff temporarily sandbags around the warehouse to prevent chemicals from flowing into nearby rivers.
Most dangerous of all, most of these chemicals are highly flammable and are not stored in accordance with safety standards and, in the event of a fire, have a significant impact on the health of the surrounding population and on the environment of the community.
Residents and businesses nearby were very worried that they knew only the mystery of the nearby warehouse, that it was being transported every few months, and that occasionally it smelled the chemical smell of the warehouse, and that the situation was so frightening.
Professionals even say that in case anything happens, it could be more damaging than last year`s West Footscray plant fire.
02 is suspected to be related to last year`s West Footscray factory fire, do you remember the plant fire in West Footscray at the end of August last year?
With explosion`s huge fireball, the fire went out of control and burned for three days and three nights.
At that time, the factory had a large amount of carcinogen asbestos, flammable explosion welding oxyacetylene, toxic flammable acetone, toxic substances burning black fog immediately shrouded the sky.
It was clear from the West Gate Bridge near city.
There are also large amounts of burned toxic substances and fire foam flowing into nearby rivers, causing serious river pollution.
Countless fish and waterbirds were poisoned to death
Emergency workers later said that hundreds of oil barrels were found inside the factory, which was supposed to be an accident and could have been set on fire by man.
It was last year`s follow-up investigation into the fire that led authorities to track down the factories in the north.
Because these warehouses belong to the same owner as West Footscray`s factory!
The investigators also said: "this is no accident."
03 illegal storage of hazardous chemicals or formation of underground industries
According to the survey, the co-owner of the factories was a 57-year-old businessman, Graham White
Registered as a hazardous waste disposal business and a logistics and transportation company, he was arrested last year for illegal possession of guns.
EPA investigators said the illegal storage of dangerous chemicals was not an isolated incident, but a "highly planned and organized illegal activity"
In Victoria, hazardous industrial waste is strictly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA`s database contains comprehensive information about which factories produce how much waste, which company is responsible for shipping, which company is responsible for handling, and where eventually, where to landfill, and so on.
In this industry chain, transporters, processors and landfills all need EPA licenses.
In this way, the processing costs are very high.
As a result, an illegal underground business model should be "needed": people offer low-cost treatment of hazardous chemical waste at a much cheaper rate than licensed professional operators.
However, this kind of so-called "disposal" is simply to transport chemical waste from various factories to their own warehouses, and then simply and rudely pile up together, piling up several warehouses day after day, without the cost of formal processing and storage. Earn money for high-risk chemical waste disposal.
However, the high cost of high-risk chemical waste disposal is precisely because of its high-risk characteristics that it needs to comply with strict standards in the treatment process, not careless.
These eight illegally stored warehouses, in the words of EPA staff, are completely disregarding the safety of residents and businesses around them!
At present, the relevant investigation is still under way.
The eight plants have been protected 24 hours, surrounded by air quality monitors and monitored by professionals at any time.
EPA and fire department staff are also working hard to move the hazardous chemicals to safety as soon as possible.
