FED:Botany Bay bids farewell to toxic waste

AAP General News (Australia)
08-18-2010
FED:Botany Bay bids farewell to toxic waste

CANBERRA, Aug 18 AAP - A permit has been granted to allow a 40-year stockpile of hazardous
waste to be exported and destroyed overseas.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett on Wednesday granted an export permit to send the
hexachlorobenzene (HCB) waste stockpiled at Botany Bay in Sydney to Denmark.

It follows a decision by the Danish government to allow the waste to be imported and
destroyed there.

Mr Garrett said this would be done in a "safe and environmentally sound manner using
state of the art technology", after authorities determined Australia didn't have an adequate
facility to do the job.

The HCB waste was a by-product from the manufacture of chlorinated solvents from 1964 to 1991.

There is no longer any production of HCBs in Australia.

AAP gd/sb/maur

KEYWORD: DENMARK WASTE

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.