The ‘toxic’ legacy of former Agent Orange site looms over new planning permit

A decade-old fight over development of a Fawkner site where some of the toxic chemicals used to make Agent Orange were manufactured has reignited after a “retrospective” planning application by the owners.

The former Nufarm site at 102 McBryde Street, in Melbourne’s outer north, has been the subject of resident concerns since the mid-1990s when a clay cap was laid across the site to stop residue chemicals spreading into soil and nearby land.

Nufarm manufactured agricultural chemicals, including parts of – but never the whole product – Agent Orange, a weapon used by the US army during the Vietnam War to strip vegetation, between 1962 and 1971.

Community groups lost their campaign in 2018 to stop the site from being redeveloped into warehouses despite arguing that works may disturb the cap and allow leftover toxic waste to leach out .

Now, an application has been made to Merri-bek Council to grant a permit for concrete slabs and shipping containers that were already installed on the land, which backs on to Merri Creek.

The permit application has attracted 98 objections. One letter, seen by The Age, urged the council to refuse it because of “the documented history of significant contamination at this site and the potential risks associated with further development and disturbance of the land”.

“I am particularly concerned about the integrity of the existing clay cap and whether any works already undertaken, or proposed as part of this application, could disturb or compromise the containment of contaminated material,” the letter read.

“I am further concerned that works appear to have already been undertaken at the site without the required planning approval.

“Given the site’s contamination history, it is important that council establish precisely what works have occurred, when they occurred, whether contaminated soil or other potentially contaminated material was disturbed or removed, where any material was taken, and what environmental controls were in place at the time.

“The fact that works may already have occurred should not diminish the level of scrutiny applied to the current application.”

The application, by companies S&A Piccirillo Paving Pty Ltd and A&F Basile Paving Pty Ltd, asks the council to approve the “retrospective buildings and works” for storing machinery and vehicles.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled in 2018 that the landowners could build two warehouses, as long as the clay cap was maintained. The decision said the industrial work “will not raise an unacceptable level of risk to the environment, the health of residents or site users”.

A community meeting was held about the current proposal last month, with about 30 people attending.

Merri-bek councillor Sue Bolton called the retrospective application “quite outrageous”.