Explosives company fined for toxic leak

Explosives company Dyno Nobel have been ordered to pay more than $500,000 for a toxic water leak that killed cattle in the Hunter Valley in 2015.

The Environment Protection Authority took Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific to the Land and Environment Court after significant rainfall in January 2015 caused water levels in a pollution retaining dam to rise and then water containing high levels of nitrate and ammonia escaped through a faulty valve at its Warkworth facility.

Five cattle on a nearby farm were found dead after the incident and others were in a serious condition.

The court was told about 80 cattle had been locked in a paddock where the only water source was the contaminated dam.

The cattle were mostly dairy cattle and the majority of them were in calf. Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association said “it had been an alarming incident and that the cattle deaths may have been kept quiet. The Hunter Valley should be pristine water. It should be pristine air. It is actually horrific.  It is headline news and every farmer, every grape grower, every irrigator and every household in this district should be made aware of such contamination yet we never heard a thing about it from the EPA”.

These types of chemical spills could find their way into your drinking water, bores, dams and tap water. And with nobody advising that a spill has taken place there is an urgent need to filter your water before it is too late.