Figure 1. Drawing of Union Carbide site and adjacent Homebush Bay with monitoring points indicated. Johnstone Environmental Technology (JET) 1989.

Figure 2. Map segment from hand drawn map of the Union Carbide site and adjacent Homebush Bay with dioxin monitoring points and results indicated.

Figure 3. Identifier for Johnstone Environmental Technology. 1989

This pioneering work, and that of others, including UK and US experts began the process of remediation on the Rhodes Peninsula and neighbouring Homebush Olympic site. These projects took many years to achieve their goals and in doing so, set new standards for land and sediment clean up. Plenty of ALGA members began their careers on these sites there and helped grow what is now a mature industry.

In the forty-plus years that have passed since Ted Johnstone began his monitoring project, sampling and measurement equipment has developed at an incredible pace and now there are highly sophisticated and accurate measurement technologies available, and more coming on stream all the time. These machines were all developed by people with not only technical skills but the imagination and confidence to apply them to create new things. Today, the latest technological wonder is artificial intelligence and no doubt people with the necessary skill and imagination will apply it to create better tools, some of them no doubt, to provide new tools for use by the remediation industry.

The scope to apply new thinking to solve established problems is something worthy of attention by young and mid-career professionals in the remediation industry. The amazing new detection technologies are making data around site characterisation more accurate than anyone could imagine 30+ years ago but working out what to do with the data and how to manage the inherent uncertainties of remediation requires imagination and curiosity as well as core scientific skills. Plenty of opportunities for those who want to make a difference and help heal the earth.

Article Published on 26/02/2024

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