I mentioned in an earlier post that I would write in a more detail about the outcome of the waste clean up challenges at Thala Valley and the abandoned Wilkes base.
The most recent diary entry which I posted yesterday was written on 29 December 2001. I didn’t write in the journal again for another two or three days as we slowly made a way westward towards Prydz Bay and Polar Bird, so this provides an opportunity to do just this.
I mentioned at the start of this series of diary
entries (HERE), that the agreement to provide support and sponsorship to the
Antarctic cleanup program resulted from earlier discussions with engineers and
scientists at Australian Antarctic Division in Hobart.
The Division needed special purpose-built containers
which would be easy to load, leak-free and would carry the contaminated soil
and waste from Thala Valley at Casey back to Australia for treatment and safe disposal.
Excavated waste from the Thala Valley site needed to be placed into containers which were specially researched and designed by the AAD and Veolia. It was critical that there was to be no contaminated leachate dispersal during storage and transit. The requirement was for a total of 240 containers each of 10 tonne capacity. These sealed small half-height containers (called quarter-heights) were 3m long by 2.4m wide and 1.2 m high. The containers had doors and would be sealed before use. It was critical to make sure that the excavated materials did not comprise large volumes of ice, snow or water. The containers had been designed so that they could be stacked, and with their low centres of gravity could be stacked close together to prevent tipping.
So how did it go?
The good news is
that it went very well.
In early 2004, the Australian Government reported that
it had successfully pioneered ways to clean up the frozen waste left at old tip
sites in Antarctica. The Government was able to announce that Thala Valley had been
cleared of all refuse dumped in the years leading up to the mid-1980s. Rubbish
accumulated when all nations in Antarctica, including Australia, simply threw
away old machinery, oil drums and the like in a rubbish tip where it froze,
became snow covered and so was left out of sight and out of mind. The Thala Valley
site had been a test site and a crucial first step towards cleaning up all of
Australia’s Antarctic legacy sites. The Government went on to say that AAD had
worked cooperatively with the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service and the
Tasmanian Government to deal with the waste. A follow-up inspection of the
Thala Valley site had found the clean-up program had been a total success.
Subsequent work over the past ten years or so has focused on exploring ways of remediating contaminated frozen soil in situ, thus obviating the risks associated with transporting large volumes of waste to Australia and the accompanying bio-security risks that this presents.
It remains to be seen whether the expertise which has been
gained from these exercises will be successfully employed at other Antarctic sites,
particularly Wilkes.
There is still much to be done in 2024. Two years ago (in 2022) the Australian Government announced a $800 million dollar budget to be spent over the next 10 years to bolster Australia’s scientific and strategic presence in Antarctica. Of this about $14 million was earmarked for cleaning up legacy waste. Research scientist, Darren Koppel of CSIRO provided information on the status of Wilkes in an article published in The Conversation under the title (in part) Dead Dogs, Leaking Oil Drums and Batteries
As recently as June this year, a French inspection team reported on a visit by a high-level scientific team in accordance with the Antarctic Treaty and its protocol on Environmental Protection.
Among other observations, the inspection team found
the deteriorating state of the abandoned Wilkes site concerning. They reported
that the presence of buildings partially or completely covered, along with
waste and contaminants of various kinds and in significant quantities, poses a
clear risk to the Antarctic environment and its dependent and associated
ecosystems, including marine ecosystems. The inspection team praised the efforts
initiated by Australia to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the site and
the risks posed to the Antarctic environment. They encouraged the continuation
of these efforts and the establishment of a site clean-up program, while being
mindful of environmental, logistical, and financial constraints.
There is no doubt that it is a continuing challenge, that has been reviewed and strategized over for many years now. Modern ground penetration radar using drone operations continues to provide more access to information, but it must be said that time is not going to wait forever, and recent reports of oil slicks and floating drums are not to be ignored.
For over 99% of its surface Antarctica is a barren, dry, inhospitable land. There is less than one percent of the Antarctic land mass which supports life including lichen, mosses and terrestrial algae and it is this one percent that needs to continue to thrive, if they are to survive. Antarctica is home for at least half the world’s penguin species, more than a dozen species of whales and dolphins, over 30 other species including seabirds and seals and more than 8,000 marine species most of which are unique to this area. All this of course, is taking place in the same area where all the human activity has taken place; hence the need for Australia and other Treaty signatories to continue to support these cleanup and rehabilitation programs.
We can and must continue to encourage and support the
great work being done by the scientists and technicians from Australia, New Zealand,
France, China, the United Kingdom and many other parts of the world who are
committed to honouring our mutual Antarctic Treaty obligations.
More tomorrow…
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