Recycal has been cleared to resume shredding at its Rocherlea site. Image / Facebook
A scrap metal processor at the centre of a lead contamination scare in Launceston’s north has been given the green light to restart shredding, more than two years after it was ordered to stop.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said Recycal could resume shredding and processing at its Rocherlea site from June 10, under strict air quality limits and ongoing monitoring.
The company has been under an environment protection notice since February 2024.
The notice forced it to stop shredding and processing shredder waste known as floc and to either remove or cover the stockpiles.
The EPA said the restart was needed to cut down the large scrap metal piles at the site.
Scrap metal piles at the Rocherlea site, pictured in February, were found to present a substantial fire risk. Image / Google Maps
Those piles “currently present a substantial fire risk”, it said.
The contamination came to light after the EPA sampled dust on nearby premises in August and October 2023 and found lead above background levels.
The dust was moving from the facility into surrounding properties.
In response, the Department of Health gave residents and workers precautionary advice and offered blood lead testing.
A human health risk assessment carried out by the EPA and health department in 2024 found higher levels of lead and other metals in soil and surface samples around the area.
But it found “no evidence that these levels caused harm to the community”.
The shredder and floc equipment had not run since February 2024 and the floc stockpiles were covered with a dust suppressant in May that year.
Since 2024 the EPA has worked with Recycal to set air quality limits.
These include the German TA Luft guidelines for metal dust deposition at or beyond the site boundary and the Australian standard for lead in air.
The EPA said it would closely monitor compliance and that its director could immediately shut down processing if the site exceeded any of the air monitoring limits.
The Rocherlea investigation later prompted the EPA to review lead dust monitoring at the Nyrstar zinc smelter in Hobart and the MMG mine at Rosebery.
