[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_Poisonous Railway Sleepers Must Be Removed_T Morris MP

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

POISONOUS RAILWAY SLEEPERS POSE HEALTH RISK
 
Safe Storage Urgently Required

Tim Morris MP
Greens Shadow Infrastructure Spokesperson

Thursday, 2 October 2008
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens today called on the Bartlett Government to
immediately remove the public safety hazard posed by large amounts of
poisonous railway sleepers that are being piled up in the middle of
Westbury and other public locations around Tasmania without any safety
fencing or warning signs, following reports that the sleepers, which
have been impregnated with highly toxic creosote, are being removed by
members of the public.

Greens Shadow Infrastructure spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that with a
major sleeper replacement program now starting, about 150,000 old
railway sleepers will be removed and will require disposal during the
next 12 months, and that these poisonous sleepers must not be left in
piles accessible by the public where they pose a danger to children who
might play on them or to people who may steal them for use in
landscaping, or even as firewood.

"I have been trying to get action and answers from the Department of
Infrastructure all week after receiving reports last week of old
creosote-impregnated sleepers being stockpiled without any safety
fencing in Marriot St, Westbury, in an area where they can easily be
accessed by local children - further reports this week have confirmed
that people are also helping themselves to these dangerous sleepers,"
said Mr Morris.

"The only response I have had from the Department, through the Minister,
is that they will get back to me in due course, which is totally
unsatisfactory."

"There needs to be a clear set of rules about how old
creosote-impregnated sleepers are to be stored and disposed of,
including warning signs alerting the public about the dangers of using
creosote-impregnated timber, and they certainly must not be left in
dangerous piles on public roads where they can be stolen or played on by
children." 

"Infrastructure Minister Graeme Sturges put out a media release late on
Wednesday suggesting that trespass around rail lines is illegal in a
limp-wristed effort to absolve the government of its responsibility, yet
he still allows the dumping of poisonous sleepers in places that are
open and accessible to the public and which are not even delineated as
railway land."  

"For minimum safe storage of these sleepers we need to see a temporary
safety fence with clear warning signs, followed by the removal and safe
disposal of those sleepers that cannot be reused in other rail lines,
and the proper storage of those that may still be safely reused."

"There is every reason to allow the sale to the public of any old
untreated wooden sleepers for landscaping or general use, but people
must be protected from these poisonous creosote-impregnated sleepers and
it is the responsibility of the Minister to ensure that this happens as
a matter of priority - media releases alone do not satisfy this
requirement," Mr Morris said.




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