New water and air monitoring programs could be included in conditions on Cadia gold mine’s operations following the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) recent public consultation and review of its environment protection licence.
The statutory five-yearly review, which received over 90 submissions, is the next step in the EPA’s ongoing work with the local community to address concerns about emissions from the mine.
NSW EPA Executive Director Operations Jason Gordon thanked the community for their input and said work will begin immediately on addressing key concerns raised through the consultation.
“After reviewing the submissions, we have identified the need for an in-depth analysis of data collected by the mine’s surface and groundwater monitoring network, and we are engaging an independent consultant to begin this work,” Mr Gordon said.
“Air quality monitoring also continues to be a key issue for the community, and we have several real-time monitoring sites in the vicinity of the mine.
“We are now considering a revision of current air emission limits for vent shafts and looking at the adequacy of air quality monitoring requirements on the licence. This includes reviewing the current network and the frequency of monitoring and ensuring monitoring data is readily available to the community.”
The EPA has also finalised its comprehensive analysis of lead isotopes in tank sediment and soils around the mine as well as surface water and air quality studies in the Cadia Valley. These reports are available at Cadia gold mine (nsw.gov.au)
“In addition to these studies, we have also commenced preliminary surface water sampling following community concerns about water quality and foam in the Belubula River,” Mr Gordon said.
"While the foam samples showed elevated levels of PFOS, these results are not representative of water quality as foam will accumulate contaminants and often show much higher levels than the surrounding water.
“Our water sampling showed PFOS levels above ecological water quality guidelines at two locations on the Belubula River. We are now doing further investigations to see if we can find the source of the PFOS and will provide ongoing updates as new data becomes available.”
The low levels of PFOS detected in water is not considered to pose a risk to human health.
Finding PFAS in the environment does not mean there is a human health risk. It is important to assess if there are exposure pathways through which people might ingest PFAS, such as drinking contaminated groundwater or consuming food products watered with contaminated groundwater.
Reports for surface water sampling on 30 May and 4 July are available on the EPA’s website at Cadia gold mine (nsw.gov.au)
A summary of key feedback received during the licence review consultation is also available at Cadia mine licence review | NSW Environment Protection Authority
EPA MEDIA | Danielle Williams | 0448 196 606
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