Media Release
November 15 2006
Australia leads toxic pollution clean-up
Australia is taking a leading role in the global battle against soil, water and air contamination with the launch of a national scientific and industrial alliance, the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment - CRC CARE.
CRC CARE is being launched in Adelaide today by the Minister for Finance and Administration, Senator Nick Minchin, at the University of South Australia’s Mawson Lakes campus from 11.30 am.
Managing Director for the CRC, Professor Ravi Naidu, says the CRC CARE will play a leading role nationally and internationally in protecting against and correcting environmental problems related to contamination.
“Australia has more than 100,000 potentially contaminated sites and the cost of clean-up is estimated at well over $5 billion and our neighbours in Asia have an estimated three million sites that need attention,” Professor Naidu said.
“This pollution of our soil, water and air poses a recognised risk to human health. It has been implicated in poisonings, cancer and other diseases. Science has also revealed that contamination is moving round the planet – showing up not just in our cities and food, but even at the poles and in deep oceans. Contamination can also impact on our trade especially given Australia’s push for clean and green image.”
“Australia’s new contamination science centre of excellence, CRC CARE, is finding the best ways to assess the risks and develop tailored solutions to toxic pollution, solutions that are safe and affordable.”
Professor Naidu said the CRC was helping Australian industry to become world leaders in the management and prevention of contamination and our regulators to set global standards of excellence in risk assessment and clean-up.
CRC CARE brings together scientific, industry and government organisations to devise new ways of dealing with and preventing contamination of soil, water and air.
Its goals include:
• cleaner, safer food supplies, water and living conditions for all
leading to a reduced toll of disease due to toxic contamination of our
food, water, air and living conditions;
• benefits of up to $1.8 billion per year from direct savings in
remediation and improved clean-land values;
• a cleaner natural environment for Australia and its neighbours.
“Australia has a real shortage of people who have skills in environmental risk assessment and remediation and right now if we need these skills, we often have this talent from America or Europe,” Prof. Naidu said.
“One of the Centre’s most valuable contributions will be to train a generation of young Australians in the skills needed to overcome and prevent the problems of contamination.”
Another major feature of the new CRC is its export focus. A node is being set up in the People’s Republic of China to act as a technology transfer bridgehead, helping China cope with growing challenge of contamination as it industrialises.
“This is one of a number of global partnerships that the CRC CARE is forging as part of our plan to build a new export industry in environmental risk-assessment and clean-up technology and skills,” Prof Naidu said.
“The breadth of our scientific and industrial partnerships positions us perfectly to help Australian industry capture global markets for advanced risk assessment and clean-up technologies.”
CRC CARE Pty Ltd participants are:
Aglient Technologies Pty Ltd; Alcoa Australia; Australian Institute of
Petroleum; Capital Technic Group Ltd; WA Chemistry Centre;CH2MHILL;
Coffey Environments Pty Ltd; Curtin University of Technology;
Commonwealth Department of Defence; Department of Primary Industries,
Victoria; Environmental Protection Authority of SA; Environmental
Protection Authority of Victoria; Gutteridge Haskins Davey; HLM Asia
Capital Ltd; Rio Tinto Ltd; Sensoron Corporation; Southern Cross
University; The University of Queensland; the University of South
Australia; URLC Victoria; WA Department of the Environment; University
of Technology Sydney, and Worsley Alumina.
Contact for interview
-
Professor Ravi Naidu office (08) 8302 5041 mobile 0407 720 257
Media contact
- Kim Sinclair office (08) 8302 3933 mobile 0429 779 228 email kim.sinclair@crccare.com