Pemberton mill contamination raises concerns as demolition confirmed for late March

After several delays and calls from the community, the now destroyed Pemberton mill has a demolition date scheduled for later this month. However, there have been concerns with the proceedings of the demolition and the contaminants found on the site, including asbestos from the former timber mill, arsenic from the pit on the site and toxic dust that might become airborne once demolition begins. Nearby Crossings Bakery owner Jeremy Forrest said he was concerned with the timing of the demolition, given the popular tourism events which could be impacted and the health concerns surrounding it. His concern is that it will happen over the Targa West and Easter weekend. “We live in a lean, green and clean community, with our caravan park being revamped, and Karri Valley being invested in and there are new operators in town for ecotourism,” he said. “The last thing we want is a dirty, stinking and contaminated site on our doorstep, blotting all the work that tourism operators have done in the past few years.” Mr Forrest said the proximity of his business and the potential contaminants and toxic dust still being found at the site were points of concern for him and his staff. “We’ve had run-off and water running off of the site into my property and it’s a concern,” he said. “As an employer, I have a duty of care to my staff and making sure it was safe. “I bought this land in good faith off the State Government in the fact that it was hunky-dory — and it’s not.” Mr Forrest said the site lacked dust suppression during its activity as a mill with concerns the issue would continue during demolition. “All the dust and rubbish would cover my building, as they didn’t have dust suppression when it was an active mill,” he said. “I want to know if they will do some core samples before they start knocking things down.” Shire of Manjimup president Donelle Buegge said the date had been verbally confirmed for March 23, although there had been talks about the demolition date being pushed back until after Easter. She compared the lack of action done to the site, and the effects it might have, to the former town of Wittenoom. “The concerns from residents come from the fear of asbestos because like Wittenoom, nobody thought there was anything wrong until everyone got asbestosis,” she said. “It’s the fear of the unknown and the lack of progress at the site, and people were frustrated that as a community, they knew there was a health hazard and people weren’t taking them seriously. “The date was confirmed from the demolition crew, although it may be pushed back.” The State Government and mill owner Parkside Timber took action and started preparing the work after the Shire of Manjimup put a notice of intent to them in relation to the mill’s demolition. “Twelve months ago, the site was sprayed with glue to hold everything together and the contractor that’s in charge had brought concerns that the coating had been broken down,” Ms Buegge said. “They said the demolition had to be done now. “By the time winter comes, it was said that with the rain and the wind, it was looking to be a health disaster.” She said the contamination risks on the site were of a high concern, but there were no plans from Parkside regarding the clean-up of the contaminants. “It’s very high on my list of concerns and is a part of the questioning that I will do with the demolition crew when I meet with them,” Ms Buegge said. “At this point, the demolition only involves the building and the asbestos, and there’s nothing about the contaminants on the site. “Because Parkside are self-insured, they are having to fund the demolition, and there’s arguments about who is responsible for the clean-up on the rest of the site. “The monitoring will be daily, if not a couple times a day, and there will be dust suppression in watering the site, so that dust is kept to a minimum.” The site, which suffered a major fire in December 2022, had its demolition postponed twice, with the initial demolition planned for July 2023, before being moved to December. “It’s definitely taken longer than we wanted, because it happened Christmas in 2022, and it’s been 15 or 16 months since,” Ms Buegge said. “It’s a contaminated site and those contaminants could be airborne, and we need it to be cleaned as soon as possible.” The State Government was contacted for comment but was unable to respond before the Manjimup-Bridgetown Times went to print.