'There has never been any health risk to employees at the plant': Electrolux

The declaration, issued on May 24, said groundwater beneath the site was contaminated with solvents, including trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethene, refrigerant vinyl chloride and two forms of dichloroethene.

“Contaminated groundwater has migrated offsite toward nearby receptors, including occupants of buildings, and potentially to abstractive groundwater users and the waters of East Orange Creek,” it said.

The EPA also warned of potential vapour risks to workers within onsite buildings and to onsite and offsite workers working below the surface or accessing underground utilities.

“The nature and extent of contamination has not been adequately characterised, particularly in relation to the contaminant source area, temporal trends in contaminant concentration, and the role of preferential pathways in contaminant migration,” the declaration said.

An EPA spokeswoman said Electrolux and Orange City Council were notified and a notice appeared in the NSW Government Gazette.  

“There are no immediate risks to occupants of the Electrolux site and offsite buildings, including buildings across the road,” she said.

“The declaration assists to ensure that there is not an increased risk to site users from the contamination, as a result of [internal reconfiguration works].”

The spokeswoman said the EPA was seeking further assessment to provide ongoing assurance of the absence of risk to both offsite and future onsite occupants.

Excessive exposure to the compounds may act as depressants on the central nervous system, with symptoms ranging from skin irritations, rapid breathing and arrhythmias to kidney and liver problems and reproductive and birth defects. 

It is unknown how much concentration or exposure to the compounds is needed to cause adverse health effects.

Electrolux spokesman Craig McCarthy said the company had not used any of the chemicals since it took over the factory in 2001 and had continued to monitor the groundwater since.

“It has been found there has never been any health risk to employees at the plant or to residents in areas adjoining the site,” he said.

Mr McCarthy said the only offsite area affected was the building occupied by Midstate Metals and the business had been advised. 

“Electrolux has always claimed a contamination declaration of the site is unnecessary on the advice of independent geotechnical services advisers,” he said.

He said parties interested in buying the site had also been advised.

Orange City Council spokesman Nick Redmond said the council routinely tested water quality in Suma Park Dam and the stormwater harvesting schemes and results to date had not spurred concerns.

“That testing will continue,” he said.

“The EPA’s formal declaration that the site is contaminated is a significant step towards resolving the problem.”

The public can make submissions to the EPA by June 23 by emailing contaminated.sites@epa.nsw.gov.au.