ABOUT US
ABOUT US
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TAILINGS DAM COMMUNITY SAFETY GROUP Inc
The Tailings Dam Community Safety Action Group Inc. (TDCSAG) was incorporated on 2nd December 2022.
It was in response to community concerns about potential environmental health and visual amenity impacts arising from the proposed construction by Ballarat Gold Mine of a fourth tailings storage facility (TSF4) in the residential neighbourhoods of Mount Clear, Canadian and Sebastopol.
The City of Ballarat (CoB) granted conditional approval for TSF4 at Ballarat Gold Mine on 6 July 2023, without referring this Workplan Variation for an Environment Effects Statement (EES) to ensure best-practice operational alternatives were considered and that a baseline health status assessment of the neighbouring community would be conducted. CoB did, however, request that an amended Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) that includes “… an updated methodology and quantitative data regarding the potential health risks associated with PM10, PM2.5 and metals to surrounding sensitive receptors…” be submitted for approval prior to commencement of TSF4.
Eight TDCSAG members lodged a Joint Applicant appeal with the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to oppose this decision.
What we object to
The construction of a fourth tailings storage facility (TSF4) by Ballarat Gold Mine in Mount Clear, Victoria.
- Tailings from gold ore processing contain arsenic, heavy metals and silica;
- TSF4 would be constructed in 6 stages and operational over the next 10 years:
to a final embankment height of 35 metres;
over an area greater than 20 AFL football fields;
TDCSAG is concerned about potential environmental health impacts of dust dispersal from the mine site across the surrounding community because:
Residential encroachment and infill have narrowed the protective buffer zone around this mine site;
Gold mining dust contains arsenic and respirable crystalline silica, both carcinogens;
Only insoluble depositional dust had been monitored up until 2023, when ambient air monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 commenced;
No analyses of arsenic, heavy metals or respirable crystalline silica in dust has been reported by Ballarat Gold Mine despite the mine’s urban location;
Consequently, no local site-specific data was available for dispersion modelling for use in the HHRA or air quality assessment14,15.
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