Woodville North
Last updated April 2025
The EPA commenced environmental assessment in Woodville North, Athol Park, and Pennington in 2018.
This includes the former ‘Finsbury Factory’, north of Torrens Road to Grand Junction Road.
The investigations have been focused on assessing the scale of chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination, primarily trichloroethene (TCE), in groundwater and soil vapour.
The EPA undertook additional seasonal groundwater sampling in the area in March 2023 to inform the extent of a proposed groundwater prohibition area (GPA). Testing results indicated that the groundwater within the upper three aquifers in the Woodville North EPA assessment area is contaminated with TCE above drinking water guidelines. Results from the March 2023 sampling were used to inform the establishment of the Woodville North GPA.
Some chemicals in groundwater, including TCE, can evaporate into a vapour. The vapour can migrate up through the soil and enter buildings through crawlspaces, floorboards, and cracks and gaps in foundations. The movement of vapours into a building is called vapour intrusion. If vapour accumulates over a long time and no action is taken, the concentration can build up to unsafe levels and present long-term health risks. The EPA has undertaken indoor air testing in some homes predicted to be at risk from vapour intrusion and installed vapour mitigation systems where required.
The Stage 6 assessment, completed in May 2024, was undertaken to better understand the vapour intrusion risk in the assessment area and identified the need for indoor air testing of some homes in Pennington. This assessment also identified TCE in the groundwater in a part of Athol Park. The EPA is commencing an environmental assessment in Athol Park in 2025.
The EPA is continuing to assess vapour intrusion risks in targeted locations within the Woodville North assessment area.
For more information about the GPA, please visit: