Picture: Getty Images/Smederevac
1.4 tonnes of a chemical which caused a toxic gas leak at Spreyton and evacuation of surrounding homes and businesses for almost 10 hours on Wednesday will be buried on the West Coast at Savage River.
Multiple 20 litre drums of sulphur hydro-sulphite, which produces sulphur dioxide gas when reacting to moisture, left Spreyton yesterday afternoon on a low loader, under police escort, with fire service, transport, and environmental agency forming part of the convoy.
The route by-passed Burnie and went through Cethana and past Cradle Mountain before joining the Murchison Highway to minimise impact on traffic, with no-one allowed to overtake the convoy and risking contact with the chemical.
TFS North-West operations district officer Mark Brownrigg says the precautions were necessary as the gas being produced was highly toxic to humans and the environment.
