A shipping container carrying lead carbonate was damaged and isolated in the port August 1—just five months after the Barnett government approved the resumption of lead exports through Fremantle.

The EPA released a statement the following day saying “the container had not been breached” during loading at Patrick terminal but was so badly damaged it could not be exported. It is expected to be returned to Paroo station mine 30km west of Wiluna where the lead, in double-lined, waterproof bags, will be retrieved.

Mayor Brad Pettitt told the Herald he remained, “concerned for community safety” and would prefer the lead being turned into solid ingots before travelling by rail through the port.

Fremantle Labor MP Simone McGurk agrees: “I continue to be opposed to lead transport through the Fremantle port for the very reason that, despite the best processes and precautions, accidents can happen,” she says.

“The only way to remove the risk is to not transport lead through the port or only transport it in ingot form.”

by CARMELO AMALFI