edd,For comparison, Linc's Chinchilla trial published results of...

edd,

For comparison, Linc's Chinchilla trial published results of 11ppb in their gasifier in 2003 - 11 times the drinking water guideline.

This was not considered a problem because it is only in the gasifier itself. The benzene is not very mobile and even if it was, the dilution from a 50x50m gasifier panel to a 2km radius is enormous - by my quick calculation, a factor of about 6400. So 11ppb at the gasifier would drop to 0.0017ppb 2km from the site, and that is IF the benzene were mobile in groundwater.

For Cougar's 2ppb, it becomes 0.0003ppb, which is below the limit of detection.

And yes, I'm pretty sure Bore 37 is located within the gasifier itself, as DERM has said before that the bore that returned the positive was there.

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but just look at the numbers! DERM's own numbers, at that. 0.0003ppb is 0.03% of the drinking limit, less than background levels, and the water is unfit for drinking anyway! How does this justify an environmental protection order?

Answer: politics.