Atrazine in the Derwent?

Tim Morris
The Tasmanian Greens today demanded that the Minister for Water, Mr Llewellyn, to answer whether any of the Triazines herbicides, Atrazine, Hexazinone and or Cynazine, have been detected at the Hobart water treatment plant recently given that something has triggered departmental follow-up investigations near the mouth of all major tributaries into the Derwent River.

ATRAZINE AND HEXAZINONE FOUND IN DERWENT RIVER
Is It In Hobart’s Water Supply?
Tim Morris MP
Greens Water Spokesperson
Tuesday, 28 April 2009

www.tas.greens.org.au

The Tasmanian Greens today demanded that the Minister for Water, Mr Llewellyn, to answer whether any of the Triazines herbicides, Atrazine, Hexazinone and or Cynazine, have been detected at the Hobart water treatment plant recently given that something has triggered departmental follow-up investigations near the mouth of all major tributaries into the Derwent River.

Greens Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that Minister Llewellyn must detail exactly what triggered the investigation that led to the Atrazine testing on the 10th of October last year, and the Hexazinone and Cynazine testing on the 20th of March this year that are listed on the Department of Primary Industries and Water website.

“Triazine chemicals such as Atrazine, Hexazinone and Cynazine being detected in the Derwent River would be bad news for the river and would also be very bad news for those who utilise Hobart’s drinking water,” Mr Morris said.

“Something happened to trigger the department’s follow up investigation samples fro Atrazine last year and Hexazinone and Cynazine this year at the mouth of the tributaries feeding into the Derwent River which we are not being told about.”

“It would be logical to interpret these follow-up investigations as indicating that the triazine chemicals had been detected earlier, although the Department of Primary Industries and Water website does not list these reports if the incidents did occur.”

“The question remains that if the investigations were not triggered by detections of these Triazine chemicals at the water treatment plant that supplies the bulk of Hobart’s drinking water at Bryn Estyn, upstream of New Norfolk, then what was the event because both Atrazine and Hexazinone were detected in the follow up investigations.”

“Clearly the Minister, Mr Llewellyn does not have pesticide contamination of Hobart’s water very high on his agenda as he was totally unable to shed any light from his pre-prepared Question Time answers on what is an issue of significant concern to Health Authorities and the general public.”

“The two Triazine chemicals that were detected in the Derwent River are closely related to Simazine, which the Director of Public Health has banned for use (by Gunns) in the Macquarie River catchment after it continued be detected throughout the for over 12 months from the one spraying event in the headwaters.”

“The Minister for Water, Mr Llewellyn must also explain why the investigations were closed without any public comment as to what the investigations revealed,” Mr Morris said.