AU Landfill assessment
EPA Victoria has completed a comprehensive methane gas assessment on Victoria’s licensed landfill sites. This assessment was undertaken in response to an incident late last year when methane gas was found to be moving from a closed landfill in Cranbourne into a residential estate. Results show that no homes in Victoria are affected in the same way.
This assessment looked at 260 licensed landfill sites across Victoria and identified eight sites where methane was detected at the site boundary at levels leading to further investigation.
That further investigation found no methane in buildings at levels of concern.
Methane detected at two of these eight sites is likely to have come from natural sources and not the landfills. The remaining six sites, all in South-East Melbourne fall into three areas, Lyndhurst, Clayton South and Springvale South.
The operators of these six sites recently started EPA-approved works aimed at containing methane within the landfill site.
Operators are improving their gas monitoring networks, gas extraction systems and undertaking work, such as cut off trenches, to minimise any gas movement. This work is being audited by independent statutory environmental auditors.
These works will continue over the next few months and updated information will be provided.
The two sites where methane is likely to have come from natural sources are the closed Bosworth Road landfill at Bairnsdale and the Hallam Road landfill at Hampton Park.
As a precaution these landfills are being audited to confirm the source of the detected methane. The audit will identify if any further gas management actions are warranted.
While this assessment shows that landfill gas is being adequately managed, it has highlighted the important roles of siting, design, construction and management of buffer distances between landfills and any building development.
Where these features are not present landfill operators will conduct periodic assessment of methane management controls.
EPA hopes that the assessment provides reassurance to those living near landfills that there is no cause for concern.
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