2 February 2005:
Leading environmental scientists are urging
Federal, State and Local governments to give high priority to
cleaning up the threat to the nation's health posed by its legacy
of contaminated sites.
At the same time, they say, Australia could
generate up to $1.8 billion in new economic activity by 2015 -
including a new export industry - from environmental clean-up.
Our land, water, food and air are at risk from
100,000 potentially contaminated sites in cities and regional
areas, while more are still being created, say researchers in the
new CRC CARE - the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination
Assessment and Remediation of the Environment. The CRC has been set
up under the leadership of the University of South Australia.
"Unless we take action now, the environmental
contamination created by our own and previous generations will
become a toxic legacy for Australians far into the future," warns
CRC CARE chief executive Professor Ravi Naidu.
"There is a growing appreciation by science that
the increasing incidence of cancers and degenerative diseases in
the population may, in part, be linked to the rising prevalence of
chemical and biological contamination of our soils, water and air,"
he says.
Professor Naidu is urging a nationwide focus on the
issue, to make Australia the first nation in the world to assess
and make safe all its contaminated sites.
"The new CRC CARE represents a $115 million
investment by Australia in establishing a global lead in this
field. It is a partnership of industry, science and government
unlike any other round the world.
"It is dedicated to hammering out the best and most
cost-effective solutions to the problems which confront us and,
indeed, all societies," he says.
Its work will include:
- assessing contamination risks in land,
groundwater and air,
- developing technologies for remediating
contaminated land and water;
- developing safe options for land use and the
reuse of wastes on land;
- developing tools for monitoring of chemicals
in soil, water and air;
- helping to develop world best regulation for
assessing and remediating sites.
CRC CARE will also develop tools for sensitive
monitoring and technologies for decontaminating land and water
following chemical or biological attacks, should these occur in
Australia.
It is also a case of generating large economic
returns and new jobs for the future, Professor Naidu says.
"We estimate that carrying out contamination
assessment and remediation on old industrial land in Australian
cities will create an economic benefit of between $540 million and
$1.8 billion by 2015, through direct savings in remediation costs
and an increase in decontaminated land values."
Australia presently has a chronic shortage of
skills for dealing with environmental contamination and one of the
goals of the new CRC is to develop a generation of young
Australians expert at solving and preventing it, to work in
industry and government.
On these, and on the many new companies which are
now starting to emerge in the clean-up area, a new industry is
being born with a strong export focus, he says. With an estimated 3
million contaminated sites in Asia, the opportunity for exports of
technology and expertise is huge.
Among CRC CARE's goals are:
- Cleaner, safer food supplies, water supplies
and living conditions
- A reduced toll of chronic degenerative
disease due to toxic contamination of our biosphere
- Benefits of $540m-1.8bn year from direct
savings in remediation and improved clean land values
- A greatly enhanced natural environment for
Australia and its neighbours
- A new export industry in environmental
risk-assessment and clean-up technology and skills
The new CRC's partners span Australian industry,
academics and government. They include: Agilent Technologies PL;
Alcoa Australia; Australian Institute of Petroleum; Capital Technic
Group Ltd; Chemistry Centre;CHM2mHill; Coffey Geoscience; Curtin
University; Commonwealth Department of Defence; Department of
Primary Industries, Victoria; Environmental Protection Authority of
SA; Environmental Protection Authority of Victoria; Gutteridge
Haskins Davey; HLM Asia Capital Ltd; IT Environmental (Aust.) PL;
Rio Tinto Ltd; Sensoron Corporation; Southern Cross University; The
University of Queensland; The University of South Australia; URLC
Victoria; WA Department of the Environment; Worsley Alumina.
The Adelaide-based CRC CARE was given the green
light in the latest round of CRC's announced by the Federal
Government on December 21, 2004.
It has total funding of $115m over seven years, of
which $30m is from the Commonwealth under its CRC Program, $50m
from industry and the remainder 'in kind' contributions from
various companies and agencies.
For more information and media interviews:
Professor Ravi Naidu
CRC CARE
Telephone 08 8302 5041 or
Mobile 0407 720 257
Email ravi.naidu@unisa.edu.au
