Hobart Beaches Open for Safe Swimming Amid Mondelez Investigation into Cadbury’s Practices

Swimming is once again safe at the majority of Hobart’s beaches — just in time for Christmas — following the reactivation of the sewage treatment facility at Cameron Bay.

During the weekend, TasWater “transported in” fresh sewage treatment bacteria, which had been eliminated by “high strength trade waste” from the Cadbury chocolate facility last week.

The newly introduced bacteria originated from Blackmans Bay and is utilized to chemically decompose and process the sewage to ensure it is safe before being discharged into the River Derwent.

Two inquiries have been initiated concerning Cadbury’s parent company Mondelez International regarding this occurrence.

The operational treatment facility has lifted warnings against swimming due to health concerns associated with inadequately treated waste for the majority of the River Derwent.

Results from samples collected by local councils on Friday have been received.

They show that the water is suitable for recreational activities at Sandy Bay’s Nutgrove Beach, Long Beach, as well as Howrah Beach, Little Howrah Beach, and Glenorchy’s Windermere Beach.

However, additional testing is necessary at the western section of Bellerive Beach, where a “localized water quality issue” persists, according to the Public Health Services.

Public Health guidance continues to advise against swimming at the western end of Bellerive Beach until further notice.

Public Health director Mark Veitch emphasized that beach visitors should remain vigilant.

Dr. Veitch stated that individuals should wait at least two days following heavy rainfall before swimming at urban beaches and should steer clear of areas near stormwater outlets.

This is due to the fact that rain can influence water quality by introducing substances from the land.

Bacteria reintroduced after sewage treatment malfunction

TasWater has been collaborating with Mondelez International for the past three weeks while the company’s factory managed the disposal of trade waste during the upgrade of its pre-treatment facility.

However, last week “a significant sugar surge” from the factory exterminated essential bacteria within the Cameron Bay Sewage Treatment Facility.

Public Health Services issued a warning against swimming at several of Hobart’s beaches on December 19 after the plant could not adequately treat the sewage before releasing it.

TasWater’s general operations manager Brendan Windmeyer stated that the “high strength trade waste” exceeded “acceptable limits”.

Mr Windmeyer remarked that TasWater ceased accepting trade waste from the firm, and the team “labored tirelessly last week and throughout the weekend to restore the plant’s functionality”.

This process included “reseeding” the facility with essential bacteria that had been lost.

“The plant is currently processing wastewater once more and will steadily enhance its performance in the ensuing days,” stated Mr Windmeyer.

“We are assured that there is no longer a public health hazard for downstream river users,” he mentioned.

When the situation arose, a representative for Mondelez International stated they were working “energetically and cooperatively with TasWater to thoroughly examine and rectify the situation”.

“We have recently completed a $3 million enhancement of Mondelez International’s wastewater treatment facility, which prepares milk solids and other manufacturing by-products for safe disposal,” the representative stated.

Mondelez under scrutiny

Mondelez International is currently under investigation by both the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and TasWater regarding the incident.

While speaking on ABC Radio Hobart, EPA director Wes Ford refrained from commenting on the possibility of charges, stating “it would be inappropriate” to do so while the inquiry is still in progress.

Mr Ford pointed out that TasWater would not face investigation for violating waste discharge limits.

“This was entirely outside their control, and as such, it is not appropriate to pursue an investigation against TasWater,” Mr Ford asserted.

This isn’t the first instance where Mondelez International’s operations have triggered concerns, with documents obtained through right-to-information revealing that the chocolate factory emitted a harmful gas at 10 to 15 times above the high-risk exposure limit into the Claremont region in July.

The gas resulted from an accumulation of dairy products in pipelines, leading to toxic waste generation.

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“The entire hill is filled with the smell of the gases, which is likely having a significant impact on local residents,” an internal email from a technical services leader at TasWater expressed.

They characterized the findings of a report concerning the incident as “shocking, to put it bluntly”.

TasWater secured contractual assurances from Mondelez that such an incident would not transpire again.

TasWater to persist in rejecting Mondelez waste

In light of last week’s complications, Mr Windmeyer stated that trade waste from Mondelez’s Claremont facility would not be accepted “until we can ensure its capacity to discharge compliant waste”.

He added that TasWater was actively engaging in “collaborative discussions” with Mondelez.

The examination of Mondelez’s operations will require several weeks.

“We must obtain very detailed data from the companies in order to ascertain what truly transpired, and subsequently we will need to analyze it from the perspective of legal non-compliance issues.”