A trial to reduce odour emissions from Cockburn Cement is being probed over concerns it failed to adequately test how well a new system would work under normal operation conditions.
A trial to reduce odour emissions from Cockburn Cement is being probed over concerns it failed to adequately test how well a new system would work under normal operating conditions.
Cockburn Cement has long been targeted by residents of Yangebup and Beeliar in Perth’s south over complaints odour from the Munster lime plant have been detected as far as 8 kilometres from the site.
In May this year, the company submitted data from a sand feed trial at kiln six, which it said was successful in reducing odour emissions.
But Environment Minister Reece Whitby on Thursday told parliament that data was so complex the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation had to hire an international expert, who cast doubts on the trial’s reliability.
“Although Cockburn Cement has publicly stated that they consider the trial to have been successful, both the department and the international expert have identified areas of concern in relation to the reliability of some of the data and whether the results of the trial are representative of what will happen under normal operating conditions,” Mr Whitby said.
“The department requires time to fully consider the advice and data provided to ensure appropriate processes and consultation are undertaken and to allow for procedural fairness.
“In the 2023-24 summer period, which is about to be upon us, the department will be undertaking both proactive and reactive odor patrols during this period.
“This is unacceptable what is going on in Cockburn.”
Mr Whitby said the department was working on a regulatory solution to resolve the problem.
Cockburn Cement was fined $290,000 in 2022 for breaching the Environmental Protection Act 1986, but successfully argued the case for a $45,000 reduction in September this year.
A separate case launched by the state government in July 2022 on a further six charges of causing unreasonable emissions was ongoing, Mr Whitby said.
Cockburn MLA David Scaife, who lives in what Mr Whitby described as the “sniff zone”, said the smell was akin to having 10,000 matches struck in his house.
“The view of many residents in my electorate is that the Munster facility is no longer an appropriate location for lime manufacturing,” he said.
“Although Cockburn Cement has been operating at the Munster site for many years, residential developments have now encroached on its doorstep, including my own home, and community expectations have also changed.
“My gripe is not with the workers, it is with the senior management and the directors of Cockburn Cement and its owner, Adbri, who have refused to do the right thing either by moving the lime manufacturing operations to its Kwinana facility or at least making the investments necessary to eliminate the odour.”
Cockburn Cement owner Adbri has been contacted for comment.
The company has manufacturing plants in Munster, Kemerton, Kwinana, Kalgoorlie, Dongara, Karratha and Port Hedland, as well as depots from Broome to Esperance.