[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_Govt Quietly Posts Bad Water Test Results_T Morris MR

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

CHEMICAL TRESPASS LAWS CALL AS LATEST WATER TEST SHOW CHEMICAL
CONTAMINATION CONTINUES

As Government Posts Update on Website Without Notification

Tim Morris MP
Greens Shadow Water Spokesperson

Thursday, 27 November 2008
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens today exposed the latest release of chemical
testing data from state rivers, calling for the immediate enactment of
Chemical Trespass laws saying that the latest test results show that
contamination is ongoing, yet no information is released identifying the
source of the contamination.

Greens Shadow Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP highlighted what he
described as "extremely worrying" a set of investigation tests for
Atrazine in the Derwent River which found a positive sample at the Clyde
River Bridge, despite the Derwent River not being included in the
baseline testing,  and slammed the Government for completely failing to
disclose this result other than putting it up on the website under the
cover of darkness obviously hoping that it would not be noticed.

Mr Morris also said the latest round of the Baseline water testing has
revealed that the Liffey and Duck Rivers are contaminated with MCPA, the
Brid River has Simazine in it, and additionally the updated list shows
the extent of contamination and how persistent some of these herbicides
are in the follow-up test results.

"Minister David Llewellyn must face up to the fact that the current
system regulating chemical use by the agriculture and forestry sectors
is an utter failure and in urgent need of change," Mr Morris said.

"The time has come for the Bartlett government to admit that its
regulatory regime is failing to protect our rivers and water supplies
and that the only safe course of action is to ban the triazines
completely and implement Chemical Trespass laws to make it illegal to
allow sprays to leave the target area and enter another persons property
or any waterways."

"So far this year the following rivers have tested positive on one or
more occasions for pesticides or herbicides, the Derwent, Duck, Brid,
Rubicon, Meander, Coal, Jordan, Liffey, Macquarie and Montague, with
2,4D, Simazine, Fenitrothion, Fluaziop, MCPA and Atrazine being
detected."

"This is unacceptable ongoing chemical contamination of our waterways."


"Minister Llewellyn appears to be thinking that the purpose of water
tests is to prove chemical contamination when in fact the community
believes that the testing regime is meant to ensure that once
contamination occurs everything is done to ensure that the perpetrator
does not allow it to happen again."

Mr Morris also highlighted as a crucial failing of the current testing
regime the failure of the Minister to disclose the source of chemical
contamination, or detail the fact that the source has been unable to be
identified.

"Now that Water Minister David Llewellyn has started to list the results
of the follow up investigations he needs to go to the logical conclusion
and instead of just closing the file he needs to disclose the source of
the contamination as it would appear that in many cases it is known from
where the contamination event originates."

"Given that Forestry Tasmania no longer uses Triazines because it has
less toxic alternatives, their use must be on private land, it is time
that these potential carcinogens were completely banned; and in the
meantime the source of the ongoing contamination must be publicly
released so we can all see who are the people and companies who are
failing to prevent the contamination of our waterways," Mr Morris said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------

1. Results from the Baseline Monitoring Program, November 2008,
http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/Attachments/CART-6GEVLA?open
2. SIRU Water Sampling Results, November 2008,
http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/Attachments/CART-7CCUU3?open




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