Acid spill costs driver $150,000

A TRUCK driver who drove away from a spill of more than 1000 litres of sulphuric acid in Geelong has been ordered to pay nearly $150,000 in fines and clean up costs.

Wallan man Charles Roy Johnson was taken to court by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) over the acid spill into a roadside drain along Madden Avenue at North Shore.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard Johnson pulled over to fix a problem with his windscreen wipers and smoked a cigarette before continuing on his way, unaware his load of acid was leaking into a roadside drain.

One kilometre later, a passing motorist flagged him down to warn him of the leak.

The court heard Johnson closed the seals on the tanker and stopped the leak but drove on without returning to the spill in Madden Avenue, raising the alarm or taking any action to contain the hazardous liquid.

The court was told Mr Johnson had 20 years’ experience in hauling dangerous goods and been trained to deal with spills, but the task of dealing with a hazardous spill was too often left to others.

In court Johnson pleaded guilty to charges under the Environment Protection Act 1970 of causing or permitting an environmental hazard; dumping, discarding or abandoning industrial waste; leaving waste in a position where it could gain access to water; and pollution of land.

Johnson was convicted and fined $50,000 and ordered to pay $94,855.61 in compensation to Geelong council for the clean-up, plus $3400 in costs.

In imposing the sentence, Magistrate Andrew Capell said the incident posed a significant risk of harm to other persons and the environment.

He said the strong sentence was necessary to send a message to others in the industry that this sort of behaviour could not be tolerated.

Following Johnson’s sentencing, EPA southwest regional manager Carolyn Francis praised the council’s quick response.

“Sitting in a roadside drain, the sulphuric acid was a hazard to the community and would have been washed straight into the bay by the next rain, which could have caused significant environmental damage,” Ms Francis said.