Pasminco site remediation
We have remediated the former Boolaroo lead and zinc smelter site and continue to manage it.
Ensuring safe and sustainable land use
Our Waste Assets Management Corporation manages parts of the former Pasminco smelter site in Lake Macquarie by:
- managing vegetation
- inspecting and repairing land capping
- managing stormwater and groundwater
- collecting and treating leachate (liquids carrying contaminants)
- monitoring the site, in line with the conditions of our environmental protection licence.
Surface soils on the parts of the site that the corporation controls are affected by heavy metals, including lead and zinc. The former smelter deposited these when it operated on the site.
Because access is limited, remediation in these areas is not practical and ongoing environmental management and monitoring is necessary. However, the corporation is exploring ways to safely open some tracks for public access to parts of this area, including at Munibung Hill.
Background
The Pasminco lead and zinc smelter operated on 92 ha of land at Boolaroo, Lake Macquarie, from 1897 to 2004.
To remediate the land, soil that was affected by the heavy metals from the smelting works was kept in containment cells. The cells occupy about 22 ha of the site. They hold about 1.9 million m3 of contaminated soil.
In October 2019, Pasminco transferred responsibility for environmental management of the former smelter site and managing the waste containment cells to the Waste Assets Management Corporation.
Next steps
- Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation will sell the remaining 70 ha of remediated land under the Lake Macquarie Smelter Site (Perpetual Care of Land) Act 2019.
- Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation is subdividing this land to create industrial, commercial and residential lots.
- Revenue from the sale of this land will be used for ongoing environmental management of the remaining contamination at the former smelter site.
- The Waste Assets Management Corporation is working with Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation and Lake Macquarie Council to develop a safe strategy for opening public access to Munibung Hill.