FIRE and Rescue NSW's hazardous materials experts have been called to the former Truegain waste-oil refinery following the discovery of a chemical spill from an abandoned laboratory.
Environment Protection Authority (EPA) staff called police and fire crews after discovering a break-in at the trouble-plagued Kyle Street, Rutherford, industrial site on Friday.
"Several doors and windows had been damaged," an EPA spokeswoman said.
"Additional damage to fences was noted and EPA reported the unauthorised site entry to NSW Police."
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokeswoman said Rutherford and Newcastle crews were called to the site about 10.45am on Friday after it was discovered someone had been inside an abandoned laboratory and chemicals had been spilled on the driveway and surrounding area.
"An exclusion zone was put in place and we collected a sample that was handed over to the EPA for testing," she said.
It is unclear how long the spill had been there.
In a NSW first, Environment Minister Matt Kean ordered an immediate clean-up of the heavily-contaminated site in August.
Mr Kean stepped into a long-running stoush between former Truegain director and owner of the site, Robert Pullinger, and the EPA, slapping a prohibition order on the site.
The move means waste or substances that "pose a risk to the environment or human health" can no longer be stored at the site, effective immediately.
But an EPA spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday that Mr Pullinger had "not made any commitment to remove waste from the site or investigate the extent and nature of site contamination".
She said the spill was cleaned up and there was no further damage to the environment.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison, who has been campaigning for years to get the site remediated, said it had been months since Mr Kean said he would go after those responsible for the pollution "like a rabid dog" to ensure "the right people pay".
Ms Aitchison moved a notice on motion in NSW parliament on Wednesday demanding immediate action to clean up the site.
"It's totally unacceptable, the site isn't secure and the community is at risk everyday it remains the way it is," she said.
The EPA has been battling for years to get the heavily-contaminated site remediated.
There is still more than two million litres of toxic firefighting foam wastewater, up to 10,000 times the accepted health risk level, in multiple storage tanks at the Rutherford refinery, including an underground tank that regularly overflows during heavy rain.
Dangerous levels of toxic firefighting foam and cancer-causing chemicals have also been found in groundwater below the site.
It's unknown how far the shifting plume has spread.
The minister's intervention comes amid an ongoing investigation by the Newcastle Herald which revealed millions of litres of toxic waste collected from across Australia has been secretly pumped into creeks or dumped on the ground over decades by the Maitland waste-oil refinery company.
Truegain, also know as Australian Waste Oil Refineries (AWOR), pumped vast quantities of a chemical cocktail to nearby Stony Creek that runs to the Hunter River.
The contamination dates back to the 1990s.
IN THE NEWS:
-
Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon resigns from Labor front bench
- Hunter toddler fell out of bed before she died, trial told
- Newcastle Herald editorial opinion: Hunter should get renewable zone incentives but pumped hydro plan is a big gamble
- PM faces questions over ministers' conduct
- Prostate cancer NINJA Trial looks at high doses of radiotherapy in fewer treatments
