What lies beneath: lives on hold after discovery of toxic former Waratah gasworks

IT was more than a decade ago that Adam Lowe set about building a backyard pool for his Waratah home.

As his wife Kim wedged some rocks out from under the surface, she suddenly struck metal.

The crowbar she was using then fell and “disappeared down into a hole”.

It was strange, they thought, and they called council to investigate, believing it may have been an old train track.

Mr Lowe said the council officer gave the go-ahead for the pool on the condition it was above-ground.

“We were desperate to get it in for Christmas,” Mr Lowe said. 

“So we settled on the depth it’s at now.”

Fast-forward to June this year and only then did the Lowes piece together the pool puzzle.

What Mrs Lowe had struck in the backyard of her Turton Road home that day was a gas holder belonging to the century-old former Waratah gasworks, which remained buried there until the NSW Environment Protection Authority was in June alerted to its existence by a member of the public, who is believed to be a historian.

When Newcastle City Council found out, up to 20 homes in an area bounded by Turton, Ellis and Georgetown roads were advised not to eat fruit and vegetables grown in their backyard, or to let children play in the dirt and limit bare exposure of soil.

An initial environmental investigation revealed the gasworks had leached unsafe levels of lead and other carcinogenic substances into the topsoil of the properties.

A more sophisticated round of testing is due to begin next year, with the NSW EPA confirming on Friday it would contribute almost $200,000 towards the investigation.

The testing is set to dig deeper into the soil, determine the health risks to the community, and whether remediation will need to be carried out.

In a serious case of lost corporate knowledge, the discovery of the former gasworks has put lives on hold and plunged families into emotional and financial turmoil, many of whom worry about the health of their children and fear a deterioration of property prices.

Those same homeowners – made up of long-term residents, young families and retirees – have not ruled out a class action against the council.

Council is confident it did not know about the gasworks, and said records such as meeting minutes and reports may have been destroyed by the now-defunct Waratah Municipal Council, which later amalgamated with greater Newcastle.

Any staffer who could have known about the gasworks, the council said, would have died in the 88 years since the gasworks closed in 1928.

For Mr Lowe, who moved to Waratah in 1996, the gasworks discovery uprooted 20 years of living peacefully in the suburb, where he has established deep roots in the community.

“It’s no doubt we worry about the health impacts,” he said.

“Our children don’t live here anymore, they are in their 20s now, but they were only six and eight when we came here.

“Like all kids, they played in the dirt and spent a lot of time in the backyard.

“We worry probably less for ourselves than we do for their well-being in the long run, and what they may have accumulated [growing up].”

The discovery of former gasworks is not uncommon, with at least one environmental scientist believing there may be more lurking under the surface but the EPA is limited by non-exploratory powers.

When council was told about the gasworks, it contracted environmental consultancy company AECOM Australia to conduct testing one metre under the surface of affected properties, which fall into the boundaries of the decommissioned facility.

Two other sites – including the Newcastle Family Support building and a section of Callaghan College – have also been tested.

It is not yet clear whether homes outside the boundary of the gasworks will be tested next year, but those who share a fence line are eager to know.

Those already affected by testing are worried the contamination has dealt a blow to the value of the family home.

One seller on Ellis Road was forced to have the former gasworks noted on the section 149 planning certificate, alerting prospective buyers to its existence.

Mr Lowe – who parked plans to renovate over summer – said a deterioration of property prices would be crushing. 

“This house is central to our children,” Mr Lowe explained. “We’ve been here a long time, we’ve contributed to the community, and we wanted those guys to inherit this and set them up for the future. We worry in a financial sense, but more importantly, we worry about them losing their family home.”

Mr Lowe said the uncertainty was always at the back of his mind.

“We’d be silly to say it doesn’t have an affect psychologically,” he said.

Describing the fallout as “like living with the unknown”, Mr Lowe said residents had learned from Williamtown’s ongoing response to the RAAF base contamination, forming an action group of their own.

Mr Lowe praised the council for its assistance to this point, but said residents were mindful authorities could seek to contest responsibility for compensation or remediation of properties – if those steps were deemed necessary. He said the group had sought legal advice and left open the door on pursuing a class action.

“We’d only be seeking to move towards those options if council becomes uncooperative,” Mr Lowe said.

“Right now, the relationship is amicable.”

Some residents, however, are beginning to question how much council knew about the gasworks.

For Ellis Road’s John and Sue Dawson, the consequences of losing the value of their home are grave.

Mr Dawson said the home was his superannuation guarantee, having spent most of his retirement savings as he battled illness 15 years ago. The former truck driver admits he “blew up” when he was told the topsoil was contaminated.

“I’d just had the house valued for $600,000,” Mr Dawson said. “Whether they are going to pay for that, whether we are going to have to move, we don’t know … that plays on your mind a bit.”

“We’ve lived here for 40 years – how would you feel,” Mrs Dawson added.

Further up Ellis Road, Wayne and Lyn Leslie said all residents wanted certainty from the second test results.

“It’s going to impact different people in different ways,” Mr Leslie, a resident of five decades, said.

While the level of contamination and the health risks may be unclear at this stage, Mr Leslie said it was clear who was responsible. 

“[Council] approved the subdivision, they issued the 149 certificates, they are the responsible authority,” Mr Leslie said. 

“It doesn’t matter if Waratah Municipal Council was here, the fact is Newcastle City Council took it over – with the assets go the liabilities.”

A council spokesman said it was too early to tell if remediation of affected properties was necessary, with next year’s detailed investigation to reveal all.

“The second stage of investigations will reveal the full extent and until then, it’s not possible to determine what remediation may be required,” he said.  

“Council has provided properties within the investigation area with an update on the investigations and will continue to update residents and landowners throughout this process to ensure they are provided with test results and any other relevant information.”

THE NSW Environment Protection Authority has stepped into the contamination investigation at the site of the former Waratah gasworks with new funding.

On Friday, NSW EPA hazardous incidents executive director Sarah Gardner announced nearly $200,000 for continued testing of contaminated land. The funding will contribute to the fees of council’s contractor, who will analyse dirt samples sourced from deeper in the ground.

The first round of testing saw more than 200 shallow soil samples collected from the investigation area, revealing unsafe levels of contamination and prompting a raft of health warnings for residents. “This funding allows Newcastle City Council to get a really clear picture of what contamination exists, the extent and what this might mean to residents in the area,” Ms Gardner said. 

“We have, and will continue to, provide the council with advice and assistance throughout this process.

“Former gasworks can mean that contaminants such as tars and oils may be present, and these can be harmful to human health.”

Macquarie University environmental scientist Professor Mark Patrick Taylor said investigators would determine whether the contaminants had an “exposure pathway” to residents. 

“If that’s the case, the EPA would move to risk minimisation,” he said.

Residents have already been warned not to let children play in the dirt, avoid having bare soil exposed, and not to eat homegrown fruit and vegetables.